Roadtrip?
by xBungeeGumx
Summary: Why were they on this roadtrip, anyway? And who the hell's idea was it to let Hisoka drive?
1. Know Your Enemy

**This desperately needs some editing and fixing, but I am a lazy ass, so here you go.**

* * *

A beautiful morning in Yorknew City. The sun was rising, the birds were singing…

Gon and Leorio were snoring.

Kurapika sighed and got up from the hotel bed, padding past the bed Gon and Killua shared. Gon's foot was on Killua's face, Killua's knee in Gon's armpit. Killua had a serene smile on his face; no doubt he was dreaming about chocolate again.

Kurapika couldn't begin to fathom how they had ended up sleeping in that position, let alone _stayed_ asleep like that.

Next he passed Leorio's bed. The older man's right arm and leg hung off the side, his mouth gaping wide open. A loud snore issued from it.

Kurapika smiled to himself, pushing open the bathroom door. Leorio's snores faltered. The Kurta looked back, hoping he hadn't woken his friend up.

Leorio snorted in his sleep, then rolled over onto his other side. The snoring resumed.

Kurapika breathed a sigh of relief, entered the bathroom, and closed the door softly behind him.

And then the silence was shattered by the breaking window.

The shards of glass flew into the bathroom, and Kurapika threw his arms up in front of his face to shield it.

A tall figure stepped though the window and into the hotel bathroom.

It was a man, though Kurapika couldn't say he recognized him. He was average height, with short, mousy hair. The guy looked pretty plain, and not at all like he could shatter a third-story window.

"K-k-k," the man stuttered, moving forward with robotic motions, head tilted stiffly to the side.

That's when Kurapika realized what the man must be. "Shit," he swore.

The bathroom door flew open with a bang, and Gon and Killua were standing there, Leorio right behind them.

"Kurapika, are you alright?" Gon exclaimed. "We heard-" Then he saw the man. "Who is _that_?"

Kurapika didn't answer, materializing his chains and making them fly towards the intruder's heart.

And, to his surprise, the man dodged it, side-stepping out of the way.

Kurapika directed his chains back towards the man, and this time his wasn't so lucky. The chains missed their mark for the man's chest; however, they struck his shoulder, taking a good chunk out of it. The wound didn't bleed, just left a jagged hole.

The man made a strange, inhuman-like hissing noise, backing away. "We will get our revenge," he snarled, then leaped back out of the broken window.

Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio rushed to the window and looked out, but the man was already gone.

"Who the hell was that?" Leorio asked, repeating Gon's earlier question.

"A puppet," Kurapika replied, running a hand anxiously across his face. "One of Omokage's."

***Did you know that the name Omokage means ****_memory, _****in Japanese?**

"I thought he was dead…?" Leorio said in confusion.

Gon turned to Kurapika, too, obviously puzzled.

Kurapika opened his mouth to answer, but Killua cut in impatiently. "Do you remember _any_ of Four-Eyes' lessons?" he said to Gon. "Sometimes, if a Nen user is killed, their Nen can linger and grow ten times worse. It comes back and bites you in the butt."

"Which is why the Phantom Troupe won't kill me," added Kurapika wearily.

Leorio punched the wall. "So he had more puppets, and now they're out for revenge?"

"Well, he did say that they would try to destroy us if we killed him," Killua said dryly.

"But we didn't," Gon remarked suddenly. They all looked at the boy. He met all their eyes steadily. "Retz did."

Silence. They didn't like to talk about Retz much, especially Killua. He shoved his hands into his pajama pants pockets and looked away, out the broken window. Retz had killed her brother and sacrificed herself, just so that Gon and his friends wouldn't have blood on their hands. (Retz herself had actually turned out to be a puppet, but that was beside the point.) And Killua had been a complete jerk to her. Just because he was (he admitted it) jealous. He couldn't forgive himself for that, because Retz had always tried to be civil with him. _You both have very pretty eyes... Killua, your eyes hold darkness, but they are still pure._

"Apparently his puppets don't see it that way," said Leorio, breaking the silence.

"Well, then let's go get them!" Gon said excitedly, eyes lighting up.

Killua sighed at his best friend's usual impatience. "First of all, Gon, we don't even know where they are."

"And we do not know their numbers," Kurapika added.

"Or their strength," Leorio finished.

Gon pouted. "We beat his puppets before, didn't we?"

"Baka," said Killua. "That was only two of them. We stood absolutely no chance against the Phantom Troupe ones. And the Illumi puppet almost killed you, remember?"

Gon went quiet.

"I agree with Gon, actually."

Killua stared at Kurapika like he'd just grown a second pair of ears. Hadn't he just been on his side five seconds ago?

"We can't just let the puppets go," Kurapika continued. "They'll just follow us around and try to kill us every chance they get. It's better to just get rid of them now. But we don't have a sure chance of winning.

"Exactly," Killua interrupted. He hated unsure chances.

Kurapika ignored Killua. "-so I think we should get a bit of help from someone, then search for the puppets and destroy them." He met Gon's gaze purposefully.

Gon's face instantly lit up. "Hisoka!"

"_WHAT_?!" exclaimed Leorio and Killua in unison, both staring at Kurapika and Gon.

Gon nodded enthusiastically. "He's helped us before. _And_ he's a really strong Nen user."

"Gon," said Killua, eyes wide."You can't be serious. That creep has his own agenda. There's no way we can trust him."

"I've worked with Hisoka before," said Kurapika, leaning against the wall.

"And look how _that_ turned out for you," Killua pointed out.

Kurapika shrugged. "I know him now, in a way. Hisoka is not going to stab you in the back unless it benefits him somehow. He's a powerful ally to have."

"And don't forget we're his 'unripened fruits'," Leorio said, grimacing and making air quotes with his fingers. "He doesn't want us dead just yet."

"So I say we should just ask him if he can help," Kurapika finished. "If he can, we have better chances of winning without injury. If he can't, we'll just take our chances and go anyway. We have nothing to lose by _asking_ him."

Killua liked the idea of having better chances. "Fine."

"Okay," Kurapika said, stepping away from the wall. "Let's get dressed and ready, and then we'll go and see him. I know where he's staying."

_He knows where Hisoka's hotel is?_ Leorio thought. It made him wonder just how involved Kurapika had been with Hisoka...

"Here," Kurapika said to the cabbie, who then promptly braked with a squeal of tires. They were all thrown forward; Killua landed on top of Gon. They both laughed, then tumbled out of the car together. Kurapika and Leorio exited, Leorio muttering about crazy cab drivers and rubbing his head.

Gon and Killua started to enter the five-star hotel, but Kurapika threw out a hand to stop them. They looked up at him questioningly.

"Zetsu," Kurapika reminded them.

"Why?" Gon complained, diminishing his aura nonetheless. "It's not like we're trying to sneak up on him."

Kurapika looked up at the hotel wearily. "Just in case," he said, and he and Killua went into a state of Zetsu, too.

They strode through the gilded double doors together and gazed around. Gon's mouth dropped open.

The walls were the same clean, cream shade as the floor, shining against the large glass chandelier that hung over the room. There were red leather couches lining the walls and employees dressed in suits.

"_Wow_!" Gon exclaimed, taking in the whole room.

"How the hell does Hisoka afford something like this?" Leorio said in bewilderment.

"He probably uses all of his Heavens Arena earnings," said Killua thoughtfully, hands in his pockets.

"Not to mention that being a member of the Phantom Troupe was probably a very well-paid job," Gon added, tilting his head back as far as it would go to stare at the chandelier.

"We're getting too many suspicious looks," Kurapika murmured. "We don't look like the kind of people who go to one of these places often. Let's get into the elevator before somebody tries to stop us."

"I call pressing the button!" Gon said loudly, darting over to the elevator. Killua followed swiftly.

Kurapika shared a look with Leorio. It was something like, _So much for trying not to attract attention._

Kurapika and Leorio reached the younger two as the elevator doors slid open. They all stepped inside, ignoring the glares from the well-dressed guests and staff.

Kurapika pressed the button for the fifth floor, and the doors closed, sending the elevator zooming upward.

Gon bounced in place. "I've always loved elevators!"

Killua rolled his eyes, grinning.

Finally, the elevator doors dinged open. They all stepped out onto a red-carpeted corridor.

"So, Kurapika," Leorio said casually as they turned left, "how do you know where Hisoka is staying?"

"I'm not actually sure this is where he's staying," Kurapika confessed sheepishly.

They all stopped walking and looked at him.

Kurapika held up his hands defensively. "This is just where he was staying the last time I contacted him, that's all. I remember he mentioned that he favored this hotel."

Leorio couldn't help feeling relieved. They continued walking.

"Room 345," Kurapika said eventually. "We're almost there."

They stopped at the marked door and looked at it for a while.

"You're sure this is his room?" Leorio hissed.

"This is where he stayed last time!" Kurapika hissed back.

"Why are we whispering?" Gon whispered loudly.

"I don't know!"

"Who's going to knock?"

"I'm not!"

"Me neither!"

"Kurapika, you do it!"

"Are you kidding me? Make Leorio do it!"

"Hell no! Why me?"

"Are you just going to stand there?" a familiar voice called from the room.

* * *

**Annnnd that's about as far as I felt like putting on here. I know it's crap. Please don't hit me.**

**I also know that the part about Nen lingering was explained completely wrong. It's just too complicated for my Enhancer brain. Sometimes, I don't know how Togashi does it.**

**The bit with the mini-battle between Kurapika and the puppet wasn't very well written, either.**

**I have more written, if you want to see it. I've had this on a Word document for quite a while now, and I've been working on it every once and a while. This first part here is a bit dusty...**

**The first person to get why Hisoka's hotel room number is what it is will get a giant virtual cookie, and a life supply of virtual Chocolate Balls. c:**

**I always name my chapters after songs that I listen to while writing, because I'm not good at coming up with names myself. This one's named after Know Your Enemy by Green Day. I love Green Day. XD**

**So do you like it? Hate it? Want more? Or do you just want to hit me over the head with Killua's skateboard?**

**Feedback much appreciated! X3**


	2. Highway To Hell

**I'm really happy you guys liked the last chapter. Like, holy shiz, I've never gotten that many reviews in such a short time before. Damn.**

**121FantasyLife- You're right. I AM having a lot of fun with Hisoka. ^-^**

**Whoa. That's what she said. No, I am not... having fun... with Hisoka. He is not here. (Though I wish he was) I meant I have fun writing about him... Oh, you know what I mean.**

**XxJigoku-no-HanaxX- YOU'RE RIGHT. ILY. *throws virtual chocolate and cookie in your face*  
**

**Many thanks to all of you amazing people who reviewed!**

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They stared at each other in surprise. Then Gon shrugged and opened the door.

Hisoka's room was just as lavish and expensive as the rest of the hotel; golden colored, wood paneled wall and soft, red carpet. There was a couch that looked like you could sink right into it, in front of a huge flat screen T.V, and a very large window, taking up a whole wall, that had an amazing view of the city below.

Hisoka lounged on a bed with a red and gold comforter, wearing his usual suit symbol-themed outfit. This one had a black sleeveless shirt, a spade and a diamond in dark blue on the front. He had on cream-colored pants, and dark blue slipper-styled shoes. The wrists and arm bands, this time, were black. His hair was styled back. The teardrop facepaint was light blue, the star in orange.

"Hello," Hisoka called cheerfully, as the four of them walked in; first Gon, staring around the room in wonder, then Killua, hands in his pockets, Kurapika, surveying his surroundings wearily, and lastly Leorio, who looked as if he would rather be anywhere else but there.

"You sound as if you were expecting us," Killua said suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at the magician.

Hisoka raised his eyebrows. "I was. Your Zetsu was excellent, but, unfortunately, not good enough."

Killua made a _tsk _sound.

Gon frowned, and reminded himself to improve his Zetsu the next chance he got.

"So," Hisoka said, sitting up. "I suppose you didn't just come here to chat."

Kurapika stepped forward, recounting what had happened with the Nen puppet. The other three broke in every once and a while to add a detail or two.

Hisoka, Kurapika thought, was a surprisingly good listener. He never interrupted, just nodded a few times to show he agreed, or understood.

When Kurapika finished, Hisoka sat back again. "You would like to know if I will join you?"

"If you want to," Gon put in hopefully.

Hisoka pondered this for a second. Then he smiled mischievously, amber eyes glinting. "Why not? I'm bored; this sounds amusing. Let me get my things, then we'll go."

Fifteen minutes later, the five of them were all standing outside of Hisoka's hotel, waiting for a cab.

A cold wind swept over them, making all of them shiver but Hisoka, who seemed unaffected by the cold.

"Winter's coming," Leorio remarked.

Killua grinned at Gon. "Looks like you're gonna have to finally ditch the short shorts."

Gon crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at his friend.

After another three minutes of freezing their butts off trying to hail a cab, Hisoka began walking down the sidewalk. "I have a better idea" he told them.

He stopped beside a large, rusty gray van.

"I would prefer a sports car of some sort," the magician said conversationally as he let out his aura. "But we have too many people. This will have to do."

Bungee Gum then appeared from his outstretched index finger, and elastically fitted itself into the van's driver's door lock. Hisoka made a motion with his finger as if he were twisting a key, and the other four watched in amazement as Hisoka reached up and opened the now unlocked door.

"That's convenient," Leorio muttered.

"Who's driving?" Gon piped up.

"Definitely not you," Killua told him.

Gon, again, stuck out his tongue at Killua.

"I could," Kurapika offered.

Leorio stared at him as if he were insane. "Are you serious? Melody told me all about your driving skills. You are getting nowhere near the wheel."

Kurapika glared at him. "The only reason my driving skills were impaired was because there was a spider in the car!"

"All the same, you are not driving," Leorio argued.

"I'll drive," Hisoka said loudly, to end the argument, and slid lithely into the driver's seat.

"I call shotgun," Leorio exclaimed immediately.

In the end, after many threats (this mostly came from Kurapika's side) and shoving (Leorio's side), Kurapika actually got shotgun, while Leorio was left to brood in the back between Killua and Gon.

Killua and Gon, however, were fine with this.

"Your shoulder's comfortable," Gon told Leorio, patting said shoulder.

Leorio groaned.

Hisoka turned to Kurapika. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"The puppet went north, the same direction the church where Omokage hid in was located. I suggest we check that out first."

When Hisoka started up the van and pulled out of the parking space at high speed, Leorio wasn't the only one who was starting to regret the seating arrangement.

"Why the hell did we let you drive?!" Killua shouted as the van took a sharp left, and he fell into the door, bruising his elbow.

"Because I am obviously the oldest, most mature, responsible adult in this vehicle?" Hisoka suggested, nearly hitting another car while running a red light.

_Well, I think Leorio may be a bit more responsible and mature,_ Kurapika thought as he glanced back at the man in question. He was still skulking, like a child, in the back seat.

Kurapika turned back to the front with a sigh. _I stand corrected. Hisoka's more mature._

Suddenly, sirens started up behind them.

Gon looked back in alarm.

"We stole this car didn't we?" he recalled."I forgot."

Killua stared at him. _Bakaaaa…_

"Hold on," Hisoka said suddenly.

They all grabbed the nearest object; for Gon, it was Leorio. Then, Hisoka fishtailed, heading straight towards the cop car that was previously chasing them.

Almost all of them screamed in terror but Hisoka, who was laughing maniacally. Kurapika let out a very girlish yell.

The poor cop, who had no choice but to brake, cowered in his seat and prepared for impact.

Killua closed his eyes.

After a few seconds of absolutely nothing happening, he opened them again.

They were speeding along the road, the police car now far behind them. It seemed that Hisoka had swerved around the car at the last moment.

"I'm alive," Killua sighed in relief.

"Stop the car," Kurapika said, his voice unsteady. His face was totally washed of color, his hand still wrapped in a death grip around the armrest. "You. Are. Not. Driving. Switch seats with me. Now."

* * *

**Highway To Hell by AC/DC. It fits the chapter, yes?**

**I was laughing while writing the van part. Hisoka's getting them into his vaaaan! XDDDD**

**Hisoka's a very reckless, dangerous person, so I figured that would apply to his driving skills, as well. :3**

**I'm looking for a editor/ beta reader. I'm already having one of my friends check my spelling and grammar, but she doesn't watch HxH, and I would like another opinion. So if you know anybody who would like to beta read for me, or if you would like to yourself, PM me.^-^**

**I'll update in about a week, if enough people want more~**


	3. Gekkou

**Virtual candy for everyone who reviewed!**

**Woo! I have an editor now! She's amazing, and she fixed up this chapter and made it ten times better!**

***bows* Ria-sensei, I thank you again!**

**Sorry for taking so long to update, I was sick, and on top of that I didn't have any wifi... But I'm all better now! *rainbows and jazz hands***

**Alright, now I'm going to demand that you watch these awesome videos that cheered me up throughout my sickness!**

** watch?v=_1YsU5JN-uM These people took 1999 HxH and dubbed it with hilarious comments! My fav is "Heterosexual life partners?" ... "Heterosexual life partners."**

** watch?v=uTiadRpkOg4&feature=c4-overview&list=UUoeVptF4eUUm1-0jb3bOcnw Gon, Killua, Leorio, and Kurapika use Skype. What could go wrong, right?  
**

**Anyways, on with the chapter!**

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They were cruising down country roads now, having left the city behind at least forty-five minutes ago, and Kurapika was (in Killua's opinion) driving like an old lady.

He didn't know if this was just how Kurapika usually drove, or if the Kurta was trying to prove to Leorio that he was a safe driver, but either way, Killua was getting sick of it.

"Oi, old woman," Killua called from Leorio's left side. "Drive a little faster, will you?"

Kurapika sighed, and accelerated to sixty-seven.

Hmph. Apparently he _was _just trying to convince Leorio.

The back seat was still in it's original arrangement; Gon, then Leorio, and then Killua. Hisoka had, indifferently, switched seats with Kurapika just before they left the city. The magician was sitting on the passenger side now, and he didn't look as if he minded being moved at all. His head was leaning against the slightly open window, eyes peacefully closed and raspberry-red hair rippling in the wind.

Leorio wasn't so relaxed. It was bad enough being stuck in the middle seat, (his legs were so long that he had to uncomfortably bend them to either side), but he was stuck between _Killua _and _Gon, _of all people. They were constantly leaning over him to talk to one another, and he had almost gotten hit by a projectile that Killua had flicked at Gon.

So, when Gon started up another round of "Ninety-nine Bottles of Beer On The Wall", Leorio thought he might lose it.

The boy opened his mouth wide. "OHHHHHH…!"

_Leorio Rage Level = 75_

Hisoka cracked one eye open and glanced at Leorio in the side mirror. He always found the other man's reactions amusing.

Kurapika caught Leorio's red-faced expression, and knew what was coming. He concentrated on the road. _Must not burst out laughing._

"FIFTY-TWO BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL, FIFTY-TWO BOTTLES OF BEEEER."

_Leorio Rage Level = 85_

Killua joined in. "TAKE ONE DOWN, PASS IT AROUND, FIFTY-ONE BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL!"

_Leorio Rage Level = 95_

"FIFTY-ONE BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL, FIFTY-"

_Leorio Rage Level = 100_

"WILL. YOU. SHUT. UP!"

Hisoka refrained from snickering. Kurapika bit his lip to hide the smile he so desperately wanted to display, and gave the road his full attention. _Must not burst out laughing._

The two young boys' mouths snapped shut. Killua gave Leorio his best death glare, which was actually quite scary, but Leorio was too pissed at the moment to care. His face was a boiling tomato color.

Gon pouted. "Why can't we sing?"

"BECAUSE IT'S FREAKING ANNOYING AS HELL!"

Silence fell over the entire car.

Gon pouted some more, then turned his attention to the window, and watched the green blur of trees and grass flicker by.

Leorio crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at the front windshield.

Killua shrugged, fiddling around with his yo-yo.

"Fifty-one bottles of beer on the wall, fifty-one bottles of beeeer…" Kurapika sang softly.

Gon and Killua's head's whipped up and they simultaneously looked at the older boy. They'd never heard Kurapika sing before.

Even Hisoka opened both eyes and glanced at the newfound singer.

"What?" Kurapika said defensively. "They got it stuck in my head." Then he continued. "Take one down, pass it around…"

Kurapika could almost feel the force of Leorio's stare burning a hole through the seat and into the back of his head. He smiled and raised his eyebrows at Leorio in the mirror, daring him to do something about it.

Leorio glared right back at him. Sure, Kurapika was actually a pretty good singer, but that didn't give him the right to make Leorio's car ride miserable.

"…fifty bottles of beer on the wall."

When Kurapika started up the next line, Gon and Killua, grinning, joined in. And the song got louder.

"Fifty bottles of beer on the wall, fifty bottles of beeeer!"

A smile stretched across Hisoka's face. He was quite enjoying this…

"Take one down, pass it around!"

Then, _Hisoka_ joined the chorus of voices.

"Forty-nine bottles of beer on the wall!"

The song paused. Gon leaned forward, awestruck, to look at the clown.

Kurapika glanced at Hisoka in surprise, then smiled and sang louder.

"FORTY-NINE BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL, FORTY-NINE BOTTLES OF BEEEEEER!"

Killua and Gon happily swayed from side to side next to Leorio.

"TAKE ONE DOWN!"

Leorio's scowl deepened.

"PASS IT AROUND!"

Gon nudged Leorio meaningfully.

"FORTY-EIGHT BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL!"

Oh, to hell with it, Leorio thought. Even Kurapika, whom he had never seen sing, or really do anything like this before, was joining in.

A smile broke across Leorio's face, and he started the next verse with a loud, "OHHHHHHH!"

"FORTY-EIGHT BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL, FORTY-EIGHT BOTTLES OF BEEEEER!

TAKE ONE DOWN!

PASS IT AROUND!

FORTY-SEVEN BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL!"

* * *

**So this chapter is named after Kurapika's character song from the 1999 series, Gekkou (Moonbow). It doesn't fit the mood of the chapter at all, but it does demonstrate Kurapika's epic singing skill. XD It's such a pretty song, and the lyrics are so beautiful, it's like a lullaby.**

**Check out those videos yet? Go look at them!**

**Reviews make Gon happy. Everyone wants Gon to be happy. Otherwise, things get scary...**


	4. Paralyzer

**Apparently, according to my friend Kasey, who is sitting across from me, my face was "bright red and I had a big grin stretched across it" as I read the reviews. -/-**

**It's my way of expressing thankfulness. Do not question it.**

**This chapter is almost twice as long as the last one; I guess my subconscious wanted to make up for the word deprivement. **

**Pointless Story About My Life That You Don't Care About: So I was sitting in Science, and we were learning about this Schwann guy, who had something to do with inventing microscopes, and as the teacher is droning on and on, Kasey leans over to me and whispers, "Schwann; ****_Schwing!" _****And I burst into laughter and my seat was switched, and I almost got detention. Moral of the story: Do not think of Hisoka's Schwing while in Science class.**

* * *

Kurapika had chosen to reward Leorio for his singing by letting him drive as soon as the song ended.

Leorio was quite content, for he was finally able to demonstrate how amazing his driving skills were compared to Kurapika's.

It also meant it was Kurapika's turn to sit in between Killua and Gon, and it kind of ticked Leorio off that it seemed that Kurapika didn't have a problem with it at all. The Kurta was sitting, relaxed, ankles crossed, reading a book. Leorio envied him for that. He had always wanted to be able to read in cars, but whenever he tried, it made him feel ill.

At that moment, they drove by a very lavish-looking mobile home that was cruising the opposite way.

Gon turned around to watch it as it faded out of sight in the back window.

"Man, I wish we were in that…" he sighed.

Leorio glanced up and met Killua's eyes in the rearview mirror.

"Are you thinking…"

"…what I'm thinking?" The white-haired boy finished, raising an eyebrow.

The two looked at each other for a second, with large smiles on their faces.

Kurapika looked up from his book in confusion.

"Wait, what are you-" He was cut off as Leorio made an extremely illegal U-turn, and started speeding after the mobile home.

"I _knew_ I shouldn't have let you drive!" Kurapika yelped.

It was a good thing that they were on country roads, Leorio thought. If they were on public streets, they wouldn't have nearly this much freedom…

"But what are we doing?" asked Gon, not fazed at all by the U-turn.

"Stealing the mobile home!" said Killua with glee, as they neared the unlucky vehicle.

Hisoka smiled to himself.

"There are keys in that van over there, and enough gas left to get you to a nearby town," said Leorio, grinning, as he shoved the bewildered, frightened family of four out of the mobile home and onto the side of the road.

"You can't do this!" the father, a man with thinning hair and a potbelly, protested. "We'll have you arrested-"

The man then looked up and saw Hisoka on the side of the road, nonchalantly shuffling his playing cards. Hisoka looked up, as if he sensed the man's look, and grinned evilly at him, the joker in his hand and ready to be thrown at a moment's notice.

The poor man gulped, sweat dripping down his brow as he let himself be led from his vehicle.

The two children, boys that looked around Killua and Gon's age, stared at them in helpless surprise, as if they couldn't believe two kids like them were aiding in stealing a car. The wife just looked all-out shocked and maybe even on the verge of tears.

Leorio gave them one last shove, before climbing into the mobile home. The rest of the party followed behind him without a word. Gon, the last to climb in, waved cheerfully to the terrified family before closing the door.

"May I drive?" Hisoka asked quietly, looking at the comfortable leather driver and passenger seats.

He saw Kurapika's wary gaze and smiled mischievously. "I promise to stay under 80."

"Fine," Kurapika resigned, and Hisoka happily slid into the driver's seat. The mobile home rumbled to life, and they were off!

Leorio looked around as he set down his briefcase on the small dining table. It really was an expensive mobile home…

"WOAH!" Gon exclaimed. "I've never been in one of these before!"

He dashed through a door on the left, Killua drifting behind him.

The cab, where Hisoka and Kurapika were sitting, was connected to the living area, unlike in most mobile homes. Most were typically connected to another vehicle, such as a pickup truck, like you would a trailer. You could enter the driver's cab through a doorway, located between each of the front seats. The entrance to the home part itself was right next to the driver's and passenger's seat area on the right, while the kitchen/dining room/living room was on the left, with a door leading to the rest of the home, which Gon and Killua had gone through.

There was a stove, a microwave, ample counter space, and an actual full-sized fridge. The dining table, across from the kitchenette, had a couch wrapped around three sides of it, enough to seat five…if it was maybe a little cramped. There was a window above the back of the couch.

Another a loveseat, sat right beside the dining area, and a T.V was hanging from the ceiling, at just the right angle for you to be able to watch from either sitting area.

"IT'S SO BIIIIIIG!" Leorio heard Gon state from behind the door, followed by Killua's loud snicker.

Leorio and Kurapika glanced at each other, unanimously agreeing to head towards the door, leaving Hisoka to fiddle with the GPS.

Leorio was the first to enter into a room with two bunk beds on each side.

Looking at the two previous occupant's possessions lying on the beds, (boy's clothes, toys, and two laptops), Leorio momentarily felt guilty.

But only momentarily.

This room was quite small, especially compared to the last room, the only space not taken up by the bunk beds being an area of the floor just big enough to be a hallway, leading from one doorway to the other; for, yes, there was _another_ doorway.

Leorio, followed by the curious Kurta, opened this door, where they found Gon and Killua, pillow fighting on a queen-sized bed.

The bed was quite big, if you considered the fact that it was a mobile home. Kurapika wondered why some of this space couldn't have been spared for the room with the bunk beds…

Killua was fending off a pillow-wielding Gon, who was trying to knock the fluffy-haired boy off the bed.

Killua glanced up, dodging a swipe that would have hit him upside the head.

"There's a bathroom over there," he said, jerking his thumb to a door on the left side, near the front of the room.

His distraction cost him, though, as Gon succeeded in smacking Killua in the face with his pillow. Killua began to topple off the bed.  
However, at the last second, Killua grabbed Gon's shirtfront, and they both fell off of the bed. They crashed to the floor, hitting at the exact same time.

Leorio shook his head, starting to leave the room, but then something occurred to him.

"Wait. There are only two bunk-beds… Who will get the full bed?"

Killua and Gon, who had continued to wrestle on the floor, froze.

"I call big bed!" Killua called first, voice slightly muffled by Gon's arm.

"No way!" Gon said, sitting on Killua. "It's mine!"

"I would have much better use for it," Kurapika said, looking at the bed with longing. "And, I wouldn't destroy it."

Leorio glared at him. "I'm the oldest, I get the bed."

"What does you being oldest have to do with getting the bed?" Kurapika demanded.

"I'm old, I have back aches."

"You do not!"

"Yes, I do. I'm just too noble to mention them."

Killua snorted. "Noble, you?"

"And you're not even old!" Gon complained. "You're nineteen!"

"You guys are always calling me old; therefore, I am now old. And old people need comfortable beds for their back aches."

"How about this?" Hisoka's voice called from the cab. They all started in shock; they hadn't realized that Hisoka could hear them. "Rock-Paper-Scissors. Winner gets the bed for one night, then we switch."

Gon sat up, looking towards the direction of the cab.

"Are you sure you don't want the bed, Hisoka?" he called back.

"Baka!" Killua hissed. "We don't need more competition in winning the bed!"

There was a pause. Killua had a feeling that Hisoka may have heard his last comment. When the magician spoke next, there was amusement in his voice. "I'm comfortable enough in a bunk bed, for tonight."

Gon's face suddenly lit up. "I know what we should do! Take the bed in pairs! Me and Killua, Leorio and Kurapika. That way, the night switches can go faster."

Leorio looked more than fine with this idea, but Kurapika immediately and vehemently said, "No."

"Why not?" Gon questioned in his usual confusion. "You sleep in the same room as him all the time. And you shared a bed with him during the Hunter Exam."

Kurapika often looked back at the fateful night that he had to share a bed with Leorio in nightmares. It would haunt him for life.

"No," he repeated firmly.

"Why not?" Gon asked again, innocent.

"He…" Kurapika spluttered, uncharacteristically flustered. "…he tosses around in bed a lot," Kurapika could not help but finish lamely.

Leorio raised his eyebrows. "If you're worried about me coming out of the bathroom naked again, I can promise that I'll wear a towel."

Kurapika turned a very bright shade of red.

Gon just looked at Leorio and Kurapika, expression puzzled.

"Wait, why did it bother you?" Killua said incredulously to Kurapika. "We're all guys."

Kurapika's face turned even redder. "I… I thought his… his… was…"

Leorio's face also flushed a bright red as he caught onto what he was friend was referring to. "I told you, it was your imagination."

Killua looked from one, to the other. A snicker escaped.

"_Pfffffttt_-" And then the ex-assassin burst into full blown laughter.

The other three just stared at him, Leorio and Kurapika in embarrassment, and Gon in complete puzzlement.

"You- know what?" Killua said between giggles. "We're- ahahahaaaa- Just gonna- let you have the bed tonight." He composed himself enough to stop laughing, though a grin stretched across his face, and he grabbed Gon's arm, leading him from the room. "C'mon, Gon."

Gon protested. "Whaaat? I don't get it! I thought we _wanted_ the bed! Ne, KILLUAAAA!"

The door closed.

And Leorio and Kurapika were left in the bedroom, looking awkwardly at each other.

* * *

**Paralyzer by Finger Eleven. :)**

**Arigato, Ria-sensei. And yes, I'm still gonna call you sensei.**

**Review? c:**


	5. Smash!

**The moment you realize you need to get some new music: When you find that most of the songs on your playlist are so depressing, you can barely find any more upbeat songs to name your chapters after. DX**

**Ria-sensei said she would be busy this week, and I really didn't want to bother her, because she's basically doing me a favor by editing for me. I don't want her to just drop everything to edit my chapters. ; - ;**

**The incident that Kurapika was referring to, in the last chapter, was from the 1999 series. I'm just offering a quick explanation right now, because some of you probably just know HxH from the 2011 anime, or the manga. Basically, Leorio and Kurapika share a room on the airship, during the Hunter Exam. Kurapika is sitting on the bed, Leorio's in the shower. Leorio comes out of the bathroom, butt-naked, saying, "Ah, I feel great." Kurapika looks up, sees Leorio there in his full naked glory, shrieks, and punches him in the face.**

**Then, the scence cuts, and you see Leorio and Kurapika lying there, their backs to each other, Leorio with this big bruise on his cheek, and Leorio says something like, "I'm telling you, whatever you saw, you were imagining it. And eventually, if you keep on hitting me, I'm gonna hit you back."**

**So, I got thinking about what Kurapika actually 'thought' he saw, and I came up with that part in the previous chapter. ^^^**

**Ah, I love that scene. Cracks me up every time. XP**

**I did my best to fix my mistakes myself in this chapter, and jazz it up a little, but it's still not as good as the last two were...**

* * *

Immediately afterward, Killua had scoured the place for any signs of anything chocolate, or chocolate related.

He found the chocolate syrup in the fridge, which he drank as if it were water, and then found the two stashes of candy that were hidden under the bunk-beds.

Now Killua sat at the dining table next to Gon, across from Leorio and Kurapika. The latter two were still a bit awkward around each other, though Kurapika tried to ignore it as much as possible. He didn't want to think about the horrors of the night to come.

Kurapika looked at the clock above the stove, now. It was only 5:45. Thank God.  
But, on the other hand, they were all, (except Killua, who was absorbed in his chocolate eating), completely bored.

Leorio watched as Killua gobbled up every bit of chocolatey goodness from the bags. He had to wonder why the boy wasn't getting sick… Then again, Killua was immune to most poisons, so he figured that applied to candy-induced stomach aches, too.

Killua was just reaching into the bag to take the last piece of chocolate, when suddenly, another hand darted into the bag, grabbed the chocolate, and darted back out again.

Killua stared at the empty bag, then slowly looked up, ready to kill the chocolate thief.

Gon still sat beside him, though now, he was victoriously holding the stolen chocolate in his hand. He had just accomplished the most dangerous, unthinkable thing in the history of dangerous, unthinkable things.

He had stolen Killua's chocolate.

Killua's voice was deadly calm. "Give. That. Back."

Gon stuck out his tongue, then jumped away, dashing across the room.

Killua pushed back from the table, right on Gon's heels. "THAT WAS THE LAST PIECE OF CHOCOLATE! GIVE IT BACK, DAMMIT."

Leorio and Kurapika watched with interest, heads swiveling from side to side, as they followed the two boys' progress throughout the small room, though to the regular eye, they would have just been blurs.

"GON, I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS. GET BACK HERE."

Gon and Killua went all throughout the mobile home, past doors, bouncing off walls, Killua always just on the verge of catching Gon, but always missing by a millimeter.

They chased each other into the cab.

"I WILL TIE YOU TO A CHAIR AND TORTURE YOU, WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU. GIVE. ME. THAT. CHOCOLATE!"

Just as Gon flew past Hisoka, sitting calmly in the driver's seat, Hisoka's hand reached out, and snatched the chocolate from Gon. The movement was so quick that Gon almost didn't even see it.

The startled, and confused, boy stopped dead in his tracks, and Killua, unable to come to a halt due to his momentum, crashed into him. They both tumbled sideways onto the passenger seat, Gon hitting his head on the dashboard.

"Owwwww," he groaned.

Killua, seeing that Gon was now injured and disoriented, took advantage of the situation, grabbing Gon's arms and pulling them behind his back. "Now-" he started triumphantly, but then faltered, when he saw that Gon's hands were empty. His head swiveled around, looking to see if his precious treat had fallen upon the floor. "_Where is my chocolate?"_

Killua looked up just in time to see Hisoka pop the chocolate- _the last piece of chocolate_- into his mouth.

Hisoka slowly chewed the square of chocolate, letting it melt in his mouth. _Mmmm…_

He had always loved chocolate.

"But… But…" Killua whimpered, not fully comprehending what just happened. His chocolate had been eaten? No! This couldn't be!

"Now nobody gets it," Hisoka said matter-of-factly.

Killua mouthed wordlessly at Hisoka in despair, knowing full well that if he tried to get revenge on Hisoka, he would probably get seriously injured.

Hisoka just looked at him, eyebrows raised, still managing to keep the car on the road, even though he wasn't paying attention. He was still savoring the smooth taste of the chocolate.

The depressed, saddened, ex-assassin slowly made his way out of the cab, shoulders hunched.

"Ne, Killua?" said Gon softly from behind him.

"What do you want, now?" Killua replied sadly, sinking down into his seat again.

Gon sat down next to his friend, and held out his hand. A little square rested in the palm of it.

"I had another one," Gon admitted sheepishly.

Killua stared at the chocolate in disbelief. Then, he grabbed the chocolate from his friend's hand, grinning and leaning back into his seat. He slid the chocolate into his pocket. He would save this one for later.

"Thanks, Gon!"

Gon smiled, sitting beside Killua again. Leorio and Kurapika smiled, too.

"…And now we're bored, again," Leorio sighed after a while.

"Mhmmm," Killua agreed, absently flicking a crumb around on the table, as if it were a hockey puck.

"I think I have something we can do," Kurapika suggested.

They all looked at him hopefully.

"What is it?" Gon asked in excitement.

"Well, for the first part, I'm going to tell you a story. All you have to do is listen."

Killua pouted. "A _story_? We're not three years old."

"It's a murder story," Kurapika stated.

Killua perked up a little. "Okay, I'll listen."

"Hisoka?" Kurapika called to the magician. "Would you like to play, too?"

"Sure," said Hisoka's voice from the cab.

"Okay," Kurapika said, leaning forward in his seat. "Like I said, all you have to do is listen."

Gon nodded eagerly, Killua looked on with interest, and Leorio leaned back in his seat, watching Kurapika. Hisoka was silent, showing that he was listening.

Well, at least the Kurta had an audience…

He began. "There is a river with a bridge over it, and a wife and her husband live in a house on one side. The wife has a lover who lives on the other side of the river, and the only way to get from one side of the river to the other is to walk across the bridge, or to ask the boatman to take you.

One day, the husband tells his wife that he has to be gone all night to handle some business in a distant town. The wife pleads for him to take her with him, because she knows that if he doesn't, she will be unfaithful to him. The husband absolutely refuses to take her, because he says she will only be in the way of his important business.

So, the husband goes alone. While he is gone, the wife goes over the bridge and stays with her lover. The night passes, and dawn is approaching, when the wife leaves because she must get back to her own house before the husband gets home.

She starts to cross the bridge, but sees an assassin waiting for her on the other side-"

Killua's brow furrowed.

"That escalated quickly," Leorio muttered.

Kurapika ignored the interruption and continued. "-and she knows that if she tries to cross, he will kill her.

In terror, she runs up the side of the river and asks the boatman to take her across the river, but he wants her to pay the fee. She has no money, so he will not to take her.

The wife runs back to the lover's house and explains what her predicament is, and asks for the small amount of money needed to pay the boatman. The lover says he will not give her money, for it is her own fault for getting into the situation.

As the sun rises on the horizon, the wife is nearly out of her mind, and decides, in a frenzied attempt to escape, to dash across the bridge. When she comes face-to-face with the assassin, he takes out a large knife, and stabs her until she is dead."

When Kurapika didn't say anything more for two seconds, Killua blinked and said blankly, "That's it?"

"I know!" Leorio shouted, standing up. He raised his hand and pointed at Kurapika dramatically. "The husband did it! He somehow knew the wife was cheating on him, and he hired the assassin to kill her!"

"That is not the purpose of this task, Leorio." Kurapika rolled his eyes. Leorio sat back down, disappointed.

The blonde continued. "I need you to list, on a piece of paper, the order in which you think the characters were most responsible for the wife's death. The wife, husband, lover, boatman, and assassin."

"Wait!" Gon protested. "I need to hear it again, so that I can choose better!"

Kurapika sighed, and told the story again.

Leorio found napkins in a cupboard above the sink, and he took a pen from his briefcase, wrote down his answer, then passed a new napkin and the pen to Killua. Killua did the same, passing it to Gon. Gon did his, then said loudly, "What do you say, Hisoka?"

"Hmmm…" Hisoka considered. "Wife, Lover, Boatman..." he paused, then continued. "…Husband, Assassin."

Gon wrote these down, tongue sticking out of his mouth with concentration as he did so. Then, he passed all of the napkins back to Kurapika.

The napkin answers were as follows:

**Hisoka: (you already read his)**

**Gon: Wife, Husband, Boatman, Assassin, Lover.**

**Killua: Assassin, Husband, Wife, Lover, Boatman.**

**Leorio: Wife, Lover, Husband, Boatman, Assassin.**

Kurapika accepted them, and leaned back in his seat, the napkins in his hand. His mouth twitched up at the corner as he read one. Leorio's.

He looked up again, and then said, "You just listed what matters most to you in the world."

The others were confused.

"Wait, what?"

"Huh?"

"All of the characters equal something," Kurapika told them. "The wife equals fun, the husband is love, the lover sex, the boatman magic, and the assassin money."

"So…" Gon said slowly. "What matters most to me is fun?"

Kurapika looked at Leorio and couldn't help but smile a bit.

"What's so funny?" Leorio said accusingly.

Kurapika handed Leorio back his napkin. "You make yourself out to be a greedy person, and you say that all that matters to you is money; yet your list says otherwise. Assassin, money, was _last_ on your list."

"Well…" Leorio mumbled, snatching his napkin back, and looking away.

Gon reached across the table and took Killua's napkin, before the latter could stop him. Gon looked down at it, head cocked to the side."What matters most to Killua is money and love," he announced.

Killua blushed.

Leorio grinned. "Killua, I didn't know you were such a romantic."

"Shut up, old man," Killua barked, face turning redder.

He glanced down at Gon's napkin in his hand, smiling. "What matters least to Gon is sex. Figures."

Gon looked at his friend. "Ne, Killua, what exactly _is _s-"

_"No_," Leorio, Killua, and Kurapika interrupted at the same time.

Poor Gon didn't understand why they wouldn't tell him. He gave them the watery puppy eyes. "But-"

"_No._"

Gon glared at them in defiance. "Hisoka will tell me. Ne, Hisoka-"

"Hisoka!" Killua shouted desperately. "Don't!"

Hisoka was silent, which made Killua even more nervous.

"Please!" Killua begged. Killua _never_ begged. "Save his innocence!"

There was another moment of quiet. Then, Hisoka said, "Alright. I won't tell him."

"But, Hisokaaaaa…!"

"Your childlike innocence is rare, Ringo-chan," the magician said thoughtfully, after a while. "I would hate to ruin it."

**(Ringo-chan means Apple-chan)**

The other three were quite surprised by Hisoka's statement, but Gon was not at all. He was just mad that everyone refused to answer him.

The boy skulked for the next hour, giving all of the mobile home's occupants the cold shoulder. Somehow, he would find out what sex was! He would ask someone, anyone he saw, and find out the answer. He would show them!

Killua, Leorio, and Kurapika shared an uneasy look. It was obvious that Gon had resigned to find out what sex was, one way or another. And they all knew, very well, that once Gon set his mind to something, it was next to impossible to keep him from doing it…

* * *

**Smash by The Goo Goo Dolls.**

**I figured Hisoka needed a sweet moment. I love it when he calls Gon Ringo-chan. It's so cute. :3**

**7LightWings7- I'm planning for Hisoka to be more involved as the story goes on. He's more interactive in the next chapter, in fact. (: Please don't abandon me yet!**

**I got the story that Kurapika told from some book or another that we read last year in ELA. I can't remember the book's title, but I searched "wife husband lover boatman assassin" on Google and found the story. The problem was, when I found the story, whatever version it was, it wasn't very well written. I reworded a few things, and edited a little, but...**

**I underlined the names of the characters because... well, I don't know why. It just looked better.**

**I believe my results were: Wife, boatman, husband, lover, assassin. Almost the same order as Gon. ^-^**

**What were yours? Tell me in a review! :DDD**


	6. Invincible

**What? Two chapters in one day? What is this madness?**

**Again, this chapter wasn't beta-read. I tried my best.**

* * *

The silence of the mobile home was broken by Killua's loud announcement of, "I'm hungry!"

"After all of that chocolate?" Leorio's incredulous reply came from the front seat. He and Hisoka had switched again, and Leorio was now driving.

"I'm sure there's plenty of food for you in the kitchen," Kurapika said absently, turning a page in his book.

"But I'm not good at cooookinggggg," Killua complained, dragging out the words, then leaning back so that his head was hanging upside down from the couch.

"Killua, what is sex?" Gon cut in suddenly from his seat next to Killua.

Killua glanced up at his friend. "Gon, I told you, surprising us with the question is not going to work. You've already done it five times in the last hour. We know it's coming now. And besides, we won't tell you, no matter how many times you pop the question on us."

Gon glared at him, then grabbed the other boy's legs, and shoved them, causing Killua to fall completely off the couch, awkwardly somersaulting over himself. Killua immediately sprung to his feet. "You little-"

Gon's eyes widened with fear, and he scrambled off the couch, but not quick enough. Killua caught him, threw him back onto the couch, and sat on him.

Gon's arms and legs flailed around as he fought to escape.

"Seriously, someone needs to make me some food," the white-haired boy commented as he caught Gon's legs with one hand, his arms with the other, and held them down.

"KILLUAAAAA. Your butt's on my face!"

"Good."

"Killuaaaaa!"

"Yes?"

"LET ME GO!"

"You have to do something for me first."

"What?"

"Make me food."

"You know I'm not good at cooking!"

Kurapika closed his book with a huff, getting up from the table and heading for the fridge. He was careful to step lightly as he passed Hisoka, who was sitting on the floor, building a card tower.

The Kurta opened the freezer door, scanning it's contents. "Microwavable pizza or burritos. Your choice."

"That's really all that's in there?" Killua asked, skeptism etched in his voice, as he got up and walked over to the fridge to stand beside Kurapika.

Gon, finally free, gasped for air and rolled over, falling to the floor. This caused the floor to shake slightly… which also caused Hisoka's tower, one card from completion, to fall over.

Hisoka's hand froze from where he was going to place the final card, a small noise of irritation escaping.

Gon sat up, looking at the fallen masterpiece with wide eyes. "Gomen ne, Hisoka! I didn't mean to!"

"It's fine," Hisoka sighed, getting up from the floor and padding over to the kitchen, where he began to go through the contents of the cupboards.

Meanwhile, Kurapika and Killua's conversation had continued.

"That's all that I know how to make, at least," Kurapika was grumbling, opening the fridge now, and crouching down to look in the drawers.

"Wait, you don't know how to cook?" came Leorio's disbelieving voice.

Kurapika's hand faltered from where it was going to reach for the gallon of milk. "And why is that so surprising to you?"

Leorio sounded flustered. "Because you're so… so…"

Kurapika now stood up, arms crossing over his chest. He glared in the direction of the front seat. "I'm so what?"

Leorio made some more spluttering noises, eventually mumbling, "Never mind."

"I can't hear you."

Leorio coughed. "Never mind!"

The blonde went back to scanning the fridge. "That's what I thought."

Gon had reached the kitchen now, too, and he jumped upon the counter next to Hisoka to peek into the highest cupboard.

"Oooo, I found mac and cheese!" the boy announced.

Killua glanced at the little plastic bowl of microwavable mac and cheese in disgust. He had always hated them. They were one of those single-serving, just-add-water-and-pop-into-the-microwave-thingys. "You're really gonna eat one of those? They're horrible."

Gon made a face at his friend. "Well, I don't think they are, and I'm having one."

Killua shrugged. "Suit yourself." The white-haired boy had emerged from the fridge holding a carton of eggs. He glanced at the due date, and seeing that they wouldn't spoil for a while now, set them on the counter. He crouched down and looked into a cabinet, in search of a frying pan.

"What are _you_ making, Killua?" Gon asked, setting his mac and cheese in the microwave and starting it.

"Eggs," the other boy replied.

Immediately, Leorio's voice said, "Can I have some?"

Killua shot a dirty look at the cab. "Make your own food, old man."

"I can't! I'm driving! And I am not old!"

Killua scowled, opening his mouth to retort, but Kurapika cut in. "I'm feeling nice. Leorio, I'll make you some once Killua is done."

"You won't burn them?" the older man asked warily.

Kurapika twitched. "Because you said that, I just might," he said, quietly enough for Leorio to be unable to hear.

Killua snorted.

Hisoka, meanwhile, had filled a bowl with cereal and was pouring milk into it.

"Cereal?" Gon questioned in confusion, surprised. He hadn't expected the magician to make something so… _simple._

Hisoka shrugged, sliding into a seat at the dining table, cereal and spoon in hand. "I didn't feel like making anything."

Killua had been sniffing throughout this exchange. Now, he took one big whiff, and convinced that it wasn't his imagination, asked, "…do I smell something burning?"

Hisoka, Gon, Killua, and Kurapika, at the stove with the eggs, glanced toward the microwave simultaneously.

The mac and cheese was on fire.

"WAH!" Gon cried, rushing to the microwave and opening it, desperately fanning the flames. They fortunately extinguished rather quickly.

The other three watching in amusement, Gon lifted the plastic bowl, but frantically dropped it onto the counter. "Hot, hot, hot!"

The boy then peered inside the bowl. "It's black!"

Gon looked to Killua, shock and despair written all over his face. "Killuaaa, what did I do wronggg?" he wailed.

Kurapika glanced into the bowl with interest, shook his head, then flipped his egg.

Killua had gotten up from the table, abandoning his plate of scrambled eggs, and was looking at the ruined mac and cheese. It was, in fact, black. The shriveled, burned mess looked like a lump of melted plastic. Killua poked it experimentally. It was rock hard, but it made a very interesting sizzling sound. _Pzzzzzzzz._

Killua turned back to Gon. "Did you add water?"

Gon gave him a pathetically blank look.

_He can't even follow instructions to add water,_ Killua thought, fighting the urge to laugh.

The ex-assassin got out another bowl of mac and cheese, showing his simple friend how it needed to be filled with water up to the marked line. Then, he handed it back to Gon. "_Now_ you can cook it," he told him.

Gon happily put his new bowl into the microwave, setting it for the amount of time needed.

Kurapika had finished making his eggs. He took a bite, swallowed, then, judging that they were good enough to eat, called to Leorio, "Fried or scrambled?"

"Fried," Leorio called back.

The Kurta began making his eggs, pausing every now and again to take a bite of his own.

Gon was staring at Hisoka in awe as the man ate his cereal.

Hisoka paused, the spoon suspended halfway between his mouth and the bowl. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Gon leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "I just realized that I'd never seen you eat before," said the boy in fascination.

Hisoka coughed, the corner of his mouth crooking upward, and took another spoonful of his cereal, purposely exaggerating his movements.

Killua, watching this, snorted, getting eggs up his nose. That drew Gon's attention away from Hisoka, much to the magician's relief.

"Gon, can you give this to Leorio?" Kurapika asked him, holding out a plate of steaming, fried eggs.

Gon stopped laughing at his friend, springing up, grabbing the plate from Kurapika, and dashing over to Leorio with it.

Immediately after he handed Leorio his food, the microwave beeped, and Gon rushed back into the kitchen to retrieve his meal.

Kurapika slid into his seat next to Killua just as Leorio exclaimed, with his mouth full, "These'sh aren' bad!"

The surprise in Leorio's voice was so obvious, it made Kurapika twitch again. "Next time, I'm going to spit in his food," he muttered under his breath, stabbing his own with a fork.

Killua snorted into his eggs again.

* * *

**Invincible- OK Go**

**The mac and cheese thing actually happened to me- twice. And both times, it looked like blackened rubber. Blech. That's why, to this day, I won't eat Easy Mac.**

**I have to admit, this chapter is pretty boring. They're just… making food. DX**

**Kurapika's been dreading what's going to happen in the next chapter…**


	7. Million Years

**Another chapter! Wheeeeeee!**

**It's another gorgeous day in New York- continuous snow storms, snow banks ten feet tall, and... No school tomorrow!**

**:DDDD**

**I've realized that a lot of you probably don't have snowy Christmas's where you live, and I apologize, because in this fanfic there's gonna be snow everywhere. I just can't imagine a Christmas that's not white.**

**Plus, if Gon, Killua, Leorio, Kurapika, and Hisoka are near Yorknew city, which is basically the HxH equivalent to New York City, it IS going to have snow.**

**I don't like the beginning of the chapter, I think it's boring, but the ending makes up for it...**

* * *

Bath time!

Gon and Killua, of course, insisted on taking their showers first.

Killua went in, bathed, and then headed back into the bunk-bed room. Gon went next.

It was supposed to be Kurapika's turn after that, but the second he saw how flooded and messy the bathroom had become, he decided that he would take his shower in the morning. There were puddles all over the floor, soap bubbles on the walls, and toiletries lay scattered everywhere in the small room. The compact, walk-in shower stood open, water dripping onto the floor.

"Why did you have to make such a mess?" Kurapika groaned.

"I didn't do it!" Killua shouted. "That was Gon!"

The cry of outrage that came next told Kurapika that it wasn't completely Gon's fault.

"At least get back in there and clean up the towels that are all over the floor," Kurapika ordered, leaning against the doorway of the bunk-bed room and glaring sternly at the two boys, who were getting ready to turn in for the night.

Killua huffed, rolling off the bed and going past Kurapika and into the bathroom. "Yes, mother."

Gon let out a small laugh, following behind his friend.

Three minutes later, at exactly 10 pm, Gon and Killua headed back into the bunk-bed room to go to bed. Kurapika opened the door to the bathroom to gaze at the recently "cleaned" room, if you could call it that. The two boys had mopped up the mess of water and soap bubbles with most of the clean towels, and even then, the floor was still slippery. The fallen soap containers had been placed precariously on the edges of the sink, taking up all of the space on the small counter. A smeared shape was left on the mirror from when one of the boys drew a smiley face on it with the steam.

Kurapika sighed, realizing that he should have just cleaned the bathroom himself. He threw the sodden towels into the hamper, which was in the corner. Then he returned the misplaced soap and cleaning products to their rightful place in the cupboard, and wiped the mirror.

He stepped back into the doorway, looking in at the tiny bathroom. Well, that was all he felt like doing tonight…

Kurapika returned to the bedroom just as Leorio walked in from the bunk-bed room.

"I parked us on a dirt path that I found off the side of the road," Leorio told the younger boy, stretching. His back cracked. He noticed that Kurapika had taken off his outer layers, such as the top and the… skirt? Robe? Leorio had never really known what to call the outfits Kurapika usually wore. The Kurta was now just in the long-sleeve shirt and pants that he had on underneath the robes.

As Kurapika headed around to his side of the mattress, Leorio's gaze fell upon Kurapika's outer clothing, folded primly at the end of the bed.

"Do you always have to be so neat?" the older man asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Kurapika replied simply, sitting on the edge of the bed and removing his shoes.

"If you really don't want to sleep in here, you could always sleep above Hisoka," Leorio suggested.

Kurapika, out of curiosity, got up from the bed and peeked through the ajar door at the magician in question. He was building another card tower. As soon as Kurapika looked in, Hisoka glanced up. "Yes?"

"Nothing," Kurapika stammered, closing the door again, and retreating back into the bedroom.

Leorio shook his head, grabbing his briefcase off the end of the bed and going into the bathroom to change.

Meanwhile…

Hisoka appeared to be absorbed in building another card tower, before he went to bed. The clown was sitting cross-legged upon the bottom bunk of one of the bunk-beds, carefully placing one card after another. The tower was halfway finished.

Killua and Gon had silently agreed to _not _sleep in the top bunk above Hisoka's bunk-bed. Sleeping in a bed next to the magician was unnerving enough.

So the two boys turned to the remaining bunk-bed.

"I call top bunk!" Killua and Gon exclaimed in unison. They both glared at each other.

"Rock-Paper-Scissors," Gon suggested.

And the dark-haired boy ended up winning, beating Killua's scissors with his rock.

"Best two out of three," Killua demanded.

They both pulled paper.

And then Gon won again, with scissors.

"Damn," Killua cursed.

Gon did a happy little dance before expertly scaling the ladder and settling down in the nice, cozy mattress. Killua slid under the covers of his bed.

By now, Hisoka had finished with his card tower, and he was shuffling the playing cards back together.

Killua reached up and hit the light switch, which was conveniently placed adjacent to his bed, above his head.

Gon began exchanging good nights.

"'Night, Killua."

"'Night, Gon."

"'Night, Hisoka."

Hisoka seemed a bit surprised, and amused, to have received a 'good night' from the little boy. "…Goodnight, Gon."

Now, of course, Killua felt obligated to wish the older man a good night, too.

"'Night, Hisoka."

Hisoka refrained from chuckling. "Goodnight, Killua."

Just as Leorio emerged from the bathroom in a T-shirt and a pair of pajama pants, they heard an exclamation of, "'Night, Leorio!" coming from the other room. It sounded like Gon.

"'Night, Gon," Leorio called back.

"'Night, old man!"

Leorio glared at the closed door to the bunk-bed room. "Good_night_, Killua."

"'Night, Kurapika!"

"Goodnight, Gon," Kurapika replied, sliding under the covers.

"'Night, Kurapika!"

"Goodnight, Killua."

Leorio got in bed on his side, switching off the bedside lamp. It was now pitch black in the room.

After a moment of silence, Leorio said quietly, "'Night, Kurapika."

Kurapika chuckled. "_Goodnight, _Leorio_."_

"Sweet dreams," the older man said bemusedly, settling himself on his side of the bed.

"Don't let the bed bugs bite," Kurapika told him.

Leorio's turn to chuckle.

It was completely silent again.

About a half hour later, Leorio whispered, "Kurapika?"

The Kurta, apparently, was still awake, too. "Hm?"

"I was wondering. What was your order for the list of characters?"

Kurapika was quiet for a moment. Then, he said, "Husband, Lover, Boatman, Assassin, Wife."

"So, you're a romantic, too?"

Kurapika turned a little red. "Shut up."

"Fun is your last one. That makes sense."

Kurapika rolled over and glared at Leorio.

Leorio laughed softly. "Okay, I'll be quiet. Go to sleep."

"That is what I have been trying to do all along."

Another hour after that…

A while ago, Gon had heard Killua's breathing get deeper, which meant he was probably asleep now. Hisoka _appeared _to be asleep, not that Gon could prove it. Gon could _never _detect the magician's breathing, like he could Killua's; his friend's was smooth and familiar, almost as familiar as his own.

Gon looked hard at Hisoka. The magician's eyes were closed, his lips parted a little. Was he asleep? Was he not? It was frustrating.

Gon rolled over, looking at the ceiling. Why couldn't he sleep?

Now, he decided, was a good chance to try to get his answer out of Killua again. The boy was sleeping, which therefore meant that if he was woken up, he would be disoriented.

"Psssst!" Gon hissed loudly. "Killuaaa!"

His friend made some incoherent mumbling noises. Gon heard the blankets shift around.

"Killua, what is sex?"

Killua made some more mumbling noises.

"What?"

"Nice try," Killua managed to say. Then he fell back asleep.

Gon sighed and stared at the ceiling again.

Leorio had fallen asleep about a half hour after their exchange, and started snoring approximately ten minutes after that.

Kurapika suspected an hour had passed since then…

The Kurta rolled over onto his side, back to Leorio, and stared at the wall, drawing the blankets up closer to his chin. It was really cold in here… And why did the other man have to be so _loud_?

Leorio snored pretty much every night. Kurapika knew this from experience. After all, he had shared a room with his friend countless times. But you never know how loud someone actually is until you are trying to sleep _right next to him._

Leorio snorted suddenly in his sleep, murmured unintelligibly, then rolled over. Kurapika jumped as the other man's arm was suddenly thrown over his body. The Kurta was very aware of the fact that Leorio's body was basically pressed against his. He wasn't sure if he wanted to make do with the situation, or throw the man's arm off and push him away.

On the other hand, Leorio was very warm.

The heat from his friend's body radiated over Kurapika in a cozy wave, thawing his cold limbs. He snuggled down deeper in the covers, closing his eyes. Maybe it wasn't so bad sharing a bed with Leorio after all, he thought with a yawn, drifting off. The guy was like a giant, warm teddy bear…

And then Kurapika fell asleep.

The poor Kurta had only been sleeping for an hour or two when he was interrupted.

He was pulled, drowsily, from his peaceful dreams by the distinct feeling that he was being watched.

Before he fully awakened, Kurapika registered the fact that he could still feel the weight of Leorio's arm, though he himself had appeared to have turned onto his back as he slept. He also registered that he could hear the older man's continued snores.

…And he also felt the pressure of someone… _sitting on him?_

Kurapika's eyes flew open.

All he could see were a pair of big brown eyes, like huge orbs in the pitch-black room, and an almost completely shadowed face. A nose brushed his.

"_What is seeexxxx_?" the figure whispered menacingly.

"UWAH!" Kurapika yelled in terror, jolting straight up and throwing the person to the floor.

He threw his arm to the side, felt desperately for the switch to the beside lamp, found it, and turned the light on.

Kurapika, sitting with his back pressed against bed frame, clutching the blankets like a lifeline, breath coming out in panicked little bursts, found himself staring down at a dazed little boy.

"Gon!" the Kurta cried, voice flooded with relief, as he sank back into the pillows.

"Whazgoinon?" Leorio mumbled, rubbing his eyes and starting to sit up.

"Nothing," Kurapika told him, throwing the covers back over him. He flipped the light off. "Go back to sleep."

His friend had no problem with this order, and he was immediately out.

Kurapika looked in the general direction Gon had been. The boy's eyes were like beacons in the darkness, though Kurapika couldn't see the rest of him. "You, too. Out. Back to bed."

"But-"

"_Out,_" Kurapika repeated firmly, pointing at the door, though he was almost positive Gon couldn't even see his hand.

Gon sniffed, dejected, and trudged back to his room. Kurapika waited until he heard the door close before he settled back into the mattress, closing his eyes.

Now, maybe he could actually get a bit of sleep…

* * *

**Million Years by Nico Vega, which is, incidentally, the song used in one of the best Kurapika AMVs evar. Search "spider bite kurapika" on YouTube. You'll find it.**

**Doesn't that review button look tempting?**


	8. The High Road

**This chapter shall be dubbed as M, due to foul language and road rage.**

**And now, for a poem:**

**Roses and red**

**Violets are blue**

**O, 1 am sugar high,**

**How I love you.**

***bounces off walls* CHAPTER 8!**

* * *

Hisoka was the first up, at five am, as was his tradition. The clown had always been an early riser.

He slid off the bed, and stretched, cat-like, arms raised over his head. He peeked out from a half-closed lid at the two boys that he had shared a room with. My, they were adorable. The two were snoring in unison; Gon breathed in, Killua breathed out.

"_Hooon…"_

_"…Shooooo."_

The magician ran a hand through his mussed red hair as he eased open the bedroom door just enough to be able to slide his body through, silently passing the bed where his other two unripened fruits lay.

They were snuggling together. Hisoka thought he might just get a cavity from the sweetness of these four…

* * *

It was his growling stomach that ended up waking Gon.

"Nya~" the boy rubbed his face and sat up.

His eyes lit up as he thought of the prospect of a new day.

…And a new chance to bother his best friend.

He jumped right to the floor, not bothering with the ladder, then leaned forward, shaking Killua.

"Killuaaa!"

Killua made a sound that reminded Gon of an irritated kitten. "_Mrrrrrp."_

"Rise and shine!"

This time, Killua grumbled and pulled the pillow over his head. He had never been a morning person, like Gon was. Well, you'd _have _to be a morning person to voluntarily get up at five freaking thirty in the morning…

"It's a new day! Get up and face it!"

"I don't want to face it," Killua mumbled into the bedspread. "Go 'way." The ex-assassin then picked up his pillow and chucked it at Gon. Gon easily dodged.

A foolproof way to get his drowsy friend up suddenly occurred to Gon.

"Well, Killua," Gon sighed, "I guess I'll have to get you up the hard way…"

Killua had no idea what 'the hard way' meant, and he had no intention of finding out, but he just wasn't getting out of bed for another hour, if he could help it.

Gon stepped back, a mischievous smile stretching across his face. He bent his knees slightly, raising his left hand and placing it over his right. Aura swirled around his raised right fist like a ball of flame.

* * *

Hisoka looked up in interest from the kitchen as a strong aura suddenly appeared in the small bedroom. Ah, that must be Ringo-chan… How strong he had become since Hisoka had seen him last~

The magician licked his lips at the thought.

* * *

"SAII SOWA GUU!"

Killua's eyes snapped open. Gon wasn't about to do what Killua thought he was going to do, was he?

"GUU!"

The other boy's eyes widened. Oh, shit, he was.

"KEN!"

Killua sprang up from the bed with amazing speed, for someone who just moments prior was too tired to sit up. He leaped up and onto the top of the adjacent bunk-bed, landing at a crouch, and looking at Gon with crazed eyes.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Killua shouted.

Gon merely beamed at him, lowering his fist. "It worked!"

"Jerk," Killua grumbled as he slid off the bunk-bed and landed lightly on his feet next to Gon.

Gon just kept on smiling, oblivious to the insult. He knew Killua didn't mean it.

Killua looked at his friend for a few seconds, then sighed, shaking his head. He gently punched Gon's arm. "C'mon, let's go get some breakfast."

* * *

Kurapika sat up, yawning, lifting his arms to stretch. His upraised arms froze in midair as he realized what position he was in.

He and Leorio… appeared to have been… _cuddling. _In their sleep.

Leorio had been laying next to Kurapika, arms around him, while Kurapika had been curled against the other's chest.

Kurapika, face burning red, scrambled away from the bed, leaving Leorio to continue sleeping.

As he headed into the bathroom, the Kurta thought to himself, _Good thing nobody saw that…_

* * *

When Gon and Killua saw what was going on in the kitchen, they froze mid-step.

"Ohayou!" Hisoka called cheerfully from the stove, flipping a pancake. The circle of dough turned three times in the air, and then the magician caught it easily with his spatula. The pancake slid back onto the pan with a sizzle. A plate, already stacked with eight more, sat on the counter beside Hisoka.

"You made… pancakes?" Killua said uncertainly, staring at the plate of steaming food.

"Awesome!" Gon immediately exclaimed, rushing over and snatching a pancake from the stack.

Killua immediately stepped forward. "_Gon, no-!"_

But his naïve friend had already stuffed a chunk of pancake into his mouth. "Thish ish delishious!"

"Gon, that could be poisoned!" Killua cried.

Gon swallowed the bite in one gulp, giving the other boy a puzzled look. "Poisoned?"

"Yes, poisoned!"

"Why would I want to poison your food?" Hisoka asked the ex-assassin innocently, slipping the cooked pancake onto the plate of finished ones and flipping another.

Gon looked at Killua expectantly, as if he, too, wanted to know.

"You… um…" Killua struggled to come up with a logical answer. "Uh…"

"Look at it this way," Hisoka said casually, starting up another pancake. "If I really wanted to kill you, I could do it much faster, and cleaner, with other methods." The clown looked up at Killua and raised an eyebrow.

The white-haired boy looked at Gon desperately as the boy shoved the rest of the pancake down his throat.

"Killua," Gon said as he swallowed the bite of food. "I can usually tell if something is poisoned, remember? But this doesn't taste funny. In fact, it tastes _really _good."

The boy sighed in contentment as he grabbed another pancake, not bothering with a plate or a fork, and took a bite out of it.

"Fine," Killua resigned. He could withstand most poisons, due to his background, so he wasn't afraid of eating the food, but Gon… Gon wasn't immune like Killua was. Killua didn't want anything to happen to his friend…

Well, Gon hadn't dropped dead yet, and Hisoka had a point, no matter how much Killua tried to think otherwise. So he grabbed a pancake from the plate, leaned against the counter, and bit into it.

Soft, buttery warmth spread into his mouth. Gon was right. It _was_ delicious.

"Why didn't you cook stuff like this for us last night?" Killua accused.

The joker shrugged, adding another two pancakes to the plate. The two boys were eating them almost as fast as he could make them. "You four seemed content in making your own meals. Besides, like I told you, I didn't feel like cooking."

* * *

Kurapika emerged from the bunk-bed room, fully dressed, running a brush through his damp blonde hair. He had come out of the bathroom just as Leorio awakened; the older man was now in there, taking his shower.

In the doorway, Kurapika paused, taking in the scene before him.

Gon sat at the dining table, shoveling pancakes into his mouth. Hisoka was at the oven, wielding a spatula, apparently making more.

Kurapika had felt the mobile home start moving as he had stepped out of the shower, and assumed that Hisoka had resumed driving… But if Hisoka was in the kitchen, Leorio was in the shower, and Kurapika, himself, was here…

"Who is driving?" Kurapika asked in bewilderment.

Hisoka parted his lips to reply, but the driver answered for him.

"IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOU'RE A$$ BEFORE YOU START DRIVING, DIPSH*T."

This was followed by three beeps of the horn.

"YEAH, GO AHEAD AND SHAKE YOUR FIST AT ME, A$$HOLE. I'M NOT THE ONE DRIVING LIKE A CONSTIPATED ELEPHANT."

Kurapika was very confused. "A constipated…"

"…elephant?" Gon finished, equally puzzled.

"Killua," Gon called to the road-raging driver, "what does _constipated _mean?"

"Ask Kurapika," Killua called back calmly, as if he hadn't just been screaming at some poor, random citizen.

"Kurapika-" Gon started.

"It means to have difficulty defecating," Kurapika replied, sitting down at the table across from Gon and grabbing a pancake, nibbling on it.

"This is really good," the Kurta stated in surprise.

"Why, thank you~," Hisoka said courteously, flipping yet another circle of dough into the air.

"Kurapika, what does _defecate-_"

"It means, basically, to shit," Leorio interrupted as he walked in from the bedroom, ruffling his hair with a towel.

"Eck," Gon made a face.

Leorio surveyed the room, a confused expression slowly entering his face. He wasn't as quick to come to the thought as Kurapika, but…

"Wait, who's dr-"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY, YOU F*CKING OLD BASTARD."

Killua laid on the horn again.

"…Killua?" Leorio said, baffled, staring at the cab.

Kurapika shrugged, nibbling on another pancake. "He's not crashing us, and we're going at a pretty reasonable pace."

"You, of all people, are letting a twelve-year-old _drive?!"_ Leorio yelled at his friend, throwing out his arm and pointing angrily at the driver's seat.

Kurapika shrugged again, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "In fact, I would go as far to say that he's a better driver… than _you._"

"And I'm thirteen, idiot," Killua said loudly.

Leorio had opened his mouth to angrily retort at Kurapika, but he was stopped short. He dropped his towel in shock. "Wait… you're thirteen?"

"I turned thirteen in July," the white-haired boy told him.

Leorio looked at Gon. "Does that mean that you're…?"

The young Enhancer shook his head at him, taking another bite of pancake. "Killua's almost ten months older than me. I'm still twelve, I don't turn thirteen 'til May. Didn't you know that?"

Leorio spluttered. And here he was, thinking that his two youngest buddies weren't even close to being teenagers yet.

The older man sat down heavily into a seat next to Kurapika with defeat. "You kids grow up too fast," he muttered, dropping his head into his hands. Gon patted his arm reassuringly, still munching on pancakes.

Kurapika pushed the plate of food toward him. "They're amazing," the blonde told him enthusiastically.

Leorio half-heartedly picked up a pancake. The thought of them being poisoned by Hisoka occurred to him, but Gon had obviously had more than enough of them to kill a water buffalo, and he hadn't keeled over yet. So Leorio took a bite.

Instantly, he perked up. "This is the best-"

Killua, of course, had to ruin his statement. "WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET YOUR LISCENCE FROM, BUDDY? DID YOU PULL IT OUT OFF YOUR A$$?"

* * *

***throws up hands* Okay, I give up trying to find cheerful songs on my playlist!**

**This one is The High Road, by Three Days Grace, who are the best band in the universe. :DDDD**

**Don't ask me why I added *'s and $'s to Killua's swearing, but not to Leorio's definition of defecating. I don't know. I thought about him saying, "Basically, it means to poop", but who says that?**

**I apologize for the cursing, I normally don't swear much, but road rage just isn't road rage without a healty dose of vulgar language.**

**Kurapika! Say your line!**

**Kurapika: *looks up from book and smiles adorably* "Review?"**


	9. Paradise

**This chapter was 3,341 words long, so of course I had to break it into two. ^^ The next one will be up right after this one.**

**I forgot to say this earlier, I love Leopika and GonXKillua. So, naturally, yaoi will occur. So... if you're not comfortable with that kind of stuff, I apologize.**

**I got my editor back! :D As a result, this chapter is better than the last... three? Four? I'm too lazy to check.**

**And I can't believe I forgot to say this, too- it's probably too late, now- *facepalms* but I DO NOT OWN HUNTER X HUNTER.**

**If I did, I would never be on hiatus, Leorio and Kurapika would get married, Illumi would be nice to Killua, Hisoka would ask Illumi out on dates, and Gon and Killua would cuddle more often.**

* * *

When Leorio announced, "We're here!" all four of the mobile home's other occupants looked up simultaneously.

Leorio had insisted that he drive, as soon as he finished his pancakes. Killua had protested the change, but finally gave up when promised chocolate.

Hisoka had then taken it upon himself, since he was also bored, to teach the youngest two how to play poker; Killua picked it up immediately, becoming a very formidable opponent. Gon, on the other hand, was understandably very confused. He didn't understand the game in the least.

Gon dropped his cards onto the table, showing a hand that probably could've won, if he'd actually known how to play, and crawled over Killua to reach the window.

They had arrived in the town that was located at the base of the small mountain where Omokage's church/altar had been. The path up the mountain was inaccessible to vehicles, so Leorio had no choice but to park the mobile home on the side of the road, near the trail's head.

Covering every part of the landscape was a thick blanket of white. Fluffy flakes floated through the air, covering everything that didn't cause it to melt on contact.

"It's… snowing!" Gon cried in happy astonishment, pressing his face to the glass so his nose smushed against the pane and left an unflattering imprint once he pulled away.

Gon climbed back over, the now very irritated, Killua to rush across the room to the door. He threw it open only to immediately slam it closed again. The bewildered boy turned back to his friends, hugging his arms across his chest. "That's c-cold!"

Killua, still seated at the dining table with Kurapika and Hisoka, raised his eyebrows at his friend in a no duh look. "Obviously. Snow is always cold. It's like you've never seen it before."

Gon's eyes were wide. "But I haven't!"

"What?!" Leorio exclaimed loudly as he peered around the edge of the driver's seat to get a better look at Gon.

"You haven't seen snow before?!" Killua cried, baffled.

Gon shook his head earnestly. "On Whale Island, it's always warm. The coolest it's ever been there was sixty-two degrees."

Kurapika was staring out the window, palm pressed to the glass. He gazed at the snow in wonder. "I haven't witnessed snow before either, Gon," he said absently.

Leorio and Killua's head's swiveled over to face the Kurta.

"You, too?" Leorio said in shock.

Killua curiously turned to Hisoka, silently asking the obvious question. The magician held up his hand. "Don't worry about me," he said. "This isn't my first cold winter."

"Killua, you've seen snow before?" Gon asked, arms still wrapped around himself though he was no longer shaking from cold.

Killua huffed. "Baka! Of course. It snows all the time on Kukuroo Mountain. Even in the summer. We're at the top of a mountain, after all."

By "we're", it was apparent that Killua was referring to him and his family.

Gon stared at him. "Is it always this cold when it snows?"

Killua sighed. "Yes. That's the only thing that you really need to know about snow- it is cold."

The ex-assassin rose from his seat, strolling into the bunk-bed room. "We need to find you a winter jacket…"

Gon diligently followed his friend.

Leorio looked Kurapika up and down. "You need some warmer clothes, too," he decided.

"This is plenty warm," Kurapika said stubbornly.

Leorio grinned, realizing that this was one subject that he had more knowledge of than Kurapika. "It's not in this weather. C'mon. We'll find you something warmer." Then, he too disappeared into the bedrooms' doorway.

The Kurta looked after him for a moment, before sighing and admitting that Leorio, for once, was right in this matter. He rose from his seat and went after his older friend, leaving Hisoka alone at the table, shuffling his deck just like always.

Kurapika found Leorio in the bigger bedroom, shifting through the clothes located in the only small dresser in the corner of the room.

The man's hand's paused for a second as he shifted through the contents and, with a short laugh; he turned around to wave a bright pink, lacy bra in front of Kurapika. Leorio wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

The blonde snorted, then came to his senses, and smacked the brassiere out of his perverted friend's hand. "Stop that!"

Leorio laughed again, before he turned his attention back to the drawers.

Three minutes later, Leorio had two coats laid out on the bed in front of Kurapika; a tweed jacket, smelling of mothballs and mold, and a woman's deep purple overcoat.

"No," Kurapika said immediately, in disgust.

Leorio shrugged. "Those are your choices."

"I am not wearing either of those appalling garments. I'll go without."

"You can't do that," the other argued.

"I don't care. I refuse."

Leorio, knowing that he wouldn't be able to sway Kurapika in his decision, thought hard for any alternatives.

"I know!" the older man said suddenly. "I can lend you one of my jackets!"

Kurapika eyed Leorio with disapproval, arms crossed, as the older teen grabbed his briefcase, and rifled through it.

"Here!" Leorio announced proudly as he pulled out a dark red coat. It was bulky, due to its many pockets. There were two, one overlapping the other, on each side, one on the right of the chest, and one on each shoulder. It was made of a leather-like material, with a semi-high collar, and stretchy cuffs and waist. It zipped all the way up the middle.

Kurapika grimaced. "Well, seeing as there are no other choices…"

The Kurta plucked the jacket out of his friend's outstretched hand, slipped it on and only partially zipped it up. The jacket was quite oversized, and it hung heavily on Kurapika's slight shoulders, but it was very warm. The blonde turned his head and hesitantly sniffed the collar. It smelled of Leorio's cologne.

Kurapika looked up to find Leorio watching him intently.

"You look good in red," the older man spoke softly.

Kurapika blinked, a faint blush rising to his cheeks. "What?" he asked, though he had heard perfectly well what had been said.

"Never mind," Leorio said quickly, looking away, flushing a little as well. "Let's go. Gon and Killua are probably done by now."

Kurapika, looking down in embarrassment, hurried out the door, and Leorio followed quietly behind him.

* * *

The five were standing outside of a clothing store, gazing inside. Gon was prancing up and down to try to keep himself warm and Kurapika, with his hands stuffed into the pockets of Leorio's jacket, shivering in the cold.

Hisoka, again, didn't seem to be bothered in the least by the chilly atmosphere, despite the fact that he was wearing a sleeveless shirt.

It was the magician's suggestion that had led them down into the village below the mountain to find some warmer clothes before they trekked up the path and to the ruins of the church.

"Let's go inside, already," Gon said, teeth chattering. "I want a hat. I feel like my ears are gonna fall off."

And so, the five entered the department store with the shop bell ringing as they walked one by one through the door.

A sign caught their immediate attention.

"FREE MAKEOVERS!" It read.

"That'll work. Quick and easy." Hisoka nodded his approval of the sign.

The other four looked weary, but followed the clown nonetheless as he walked up to the counter.

"Excuse me?" he said pointedly to the young woman at the counter, whose nose was buried in a book. The girl began to glance up with her usual, I-don't-want-to-be-here-but-can-I-help-you gaze, but stopped short when she caught sight of Hisoka.

"Y-yes?" she stammered, sitting up straighter, dropping the book, and pushing her large-rimmed glasses farther up her nose.

"Can you tell us more about the makeovers?"

The girl's eyes widened. It probably wasn't every day for her to find guys asking about the makeovers.

"O-oh, yes! We are advertising our hair, clothing, and make-up line! You get a free make-over, outfit and hair included, as long as you let our stylists do whatever they want. We're limiting it to five people."

"Sounds good," Hisoka said easily, stepping back.

The girl at the counter smiled earnestly, then called out, "Jazz? We have some takers!"

"Um," Kurapika muttered, tugging nervously on the cuff of Leorio's jacket. "I'm not so sure about this-"

At that moment, five people came out of the back section of the store, a tall, decorated woman in the lead.

Well, all five of the stylists seemed to be very colorful. They all obviously died their hair, from colors of neon green to deep purple. Bright shades of lipstick and eye shadow, and outrageous outfits completed the picture. They reminded Kurapika of… Hisoka.

The Kurta's heart sank into his stomach. Please, if there was anybody out there with any mercy, please may he not be made-over to look like these people.

All five were women, and the one at the head, with a name-tag that read, "Jazz" came to a stop, looking the newfound victims up and down. "My, you five will be a piece of work," she clucked, chewing noisily on a piece of gum. Her eyes traveled to Hisoka, who she gave an approving nod. "Except you."

The joker shrugged modestly, a smile forming at the corners of his lips.

The other four stylists had come to a halt, standing silently behind Jazz like soldiers.

"I will take…" The woman looked them over one more time, before her eyes landed on Kurapika and stayed there. "…you."

Kurapika almost started whimpering. No! He didn't want to look like Hisoka!

Jazz gestured to the unlucky Kurta, then spun on her heels and headed to the back room. "Come with me."

Kurapika shot a horrified, desperate look at Leorio, who merely shrugged, nudging his friend along with his toe.

Kurapika unwillingly followed Jazz, slowly and stiffly, as if he was walking to his death.

As soon as the lead stylist left, the others' composure broke.

"I'll take you!" one girl squealed, almost bouncing with excitement as she grabbed the dumbstruck Killua's wrist and dragged him into the back room as well.

"You're so adorable," another cooed to Gon, holding his hand as she led him away.

"Um… thank you?" Gon responded uncertainly, looking back at Hisoka and Leorio in confusion.

Hisoka was chosen by the blushing redhead.

And Leorio was last, taken reluctantly by a blonde with purple highlights and black eyeliner. She was actually the least over-dressed of the five stylists, and she looked a bit disappointed to have been stuck with the older man.

* * *

"You like the outdoors, don't you?" the stylist, a girl with sparkly pink eye shadow, and brown and white hair, asked Gon.

"Yes!" Gon beamed at her, legs swinging cheerfully back and forth, from the leather chair where he sat. He thought that the lady was very pretty, though he didn't understand why she painted her face so much. "How did you know?"

She smiled kindly at him. "I could tell. You have an… aura about you."

Huh? She knew about Nen? Gon was confused, but he didn't speak again until she held up a pair of brown cargo pants and said, "How do you like these?"

* * *

**Paradise by Coldplay. It's also my theme song. :DDD**

**I made the story aligned to the left this time, because of Uber Tofu Man's request. I dunno, if you guys like it better the other way, I could switch it back to center.**

**Next Chapter! **


	10. Strut

**I don't own HxH!**

* * *

Hisoka noticed that the woman hadn't taken much time with him, although she did change much. Several phone numbers were shoved into his hand as he left.

Well, he thought as he glanced at a mirror in the department store as he waited for the others, I guess it's hard to fix perfection…

They had washed off his face paint, and rinsed his hair, letting it hang down as it naturally did. The magician wasn't too happy about this change though. He hated his hair down, because it got in the way so much. Like now, it was in front of his eyes. He shoved it back impatiently with his fingers. The rest of the strands tended to turn wavy, curling over the tips of his ears and at the nape of his neck. His hair was long, he supposed, for a man. It was short in front but as it moved from the front of his head to the back it became longer. So long in fact it almost reached his shoulders.

As for his outfit; a pair of simple black shoes, with slightly high heels, much like the ones he had entered in, black skinny jeans, and a dark overcoat with a high collar, that extended down to his knees. They had tried to put him in a deep red T-shirt underneath, but he had spotted a shirt with a picture of a hand of playing cards on it, and he had insisted upon that one instead.

Hisoka looked up as Gon and Killua walked out of the back area at the same time. They glanced at each other and could not help but laugh.

Gon threw out his arms in a wide gesture, grinning. "Look, Killua! I like my new outfit!"

They had trimmed the island boy's hair slightly, though the spikes still extended toward the ceiling. The cargo pants, with many pockets all up the legs, that the stylist had suggested earlier hung from his waist, the legs tucked into a pair of leather hiking boots. A thick brown belt was visible, below a light green shirt that was tucked into the cargo pants. Over that, was an opened black zip-up sweatshirt, and on top of that was a thick, dark green bomber jacket. A pair of brown striped mittens poked out of one of the pockets.

"To be honest," Killua replied, glancing down at his outfit wryly. "I could've come up with something like this myself."

Killua's stylist, who had heard this, cried out in disbelief.

Killua had been placed in a pair of dark grey skaters sneakers, the laces simply tucked into the shoes. His pants were dark, ripped jeans, with a chain. His shirt was a loose, black long-sleeve. The jacket over top of that was simple and black, though warm, with a high collar similar to Hisoka's. A dark blue scarf was wrapped around his neck, with a matching pair of hobo gloves, the fingers cut off of them, in the same color. A golden chain necklace hung from his neck, and he held a black beanie.

"Killua," Gon said nervously, scratching his neck and blushing, "I think she heard you."

The other boy shrugged indifferently. "She should know that her styling skills aren't any better than a thirteen-year-old boy's."

The stylist looked like she was ready to march out there and murder Killua barehanded, but at that moment Killua spotted Hisoka. He headed over to join the magician, hands, as always, in his pockets. Gon followed behind him, shooting an apologetic glance back at his friend's stylist.

"Thankfully, I was able to keep my wristbands," Hisoka told them as they approached.

"Why does it matter if you can keep them or not?" Gon asked in confusion, tilting his head the side like a puzzled puppy.

Both Hisoka and Killua looked at the boy in surprise. Gon was struck, in that moment, with how the joker and his best friend were so remarkably alike. They both gave him a look that said, Isn't it obvious?

"You didn't know?" Killua said to him.

Gon was frustrated. "Didn't know what?"

"That they're where Hisoka keeps the playing cards, of course," the other boy replied.

Gon knit his eyebrows together. "Huh?"

Killua nodded to Hisoka. "Show him."

"It's where I hide my weapons," Hisoka explained. He held out his hands. In one smooth movement, so fast that Gon had to squint to see it, the magician had flicked his wrists, and suddenly, there was a card in each of his hands.

Gon still looked puzzled.

"Slower," Killua told Hisoka with a sigh, knowing that they could easily be at this all day.

Hisoka slowly curled his wrists inward, fingers bending forward. Gon watched in fascination as the man slid another pair of cards from the wristbands. He showed them all to Gon; the two jokers, the ace of spades and the ace of hearts.

Then, Hisoka flicked his wrists back in again, and all four of the cards slid back into the wristbands.

"Coooool," Gon breathed.

Killua raised an eyebrow at him. "I can't believe you didn't notice it before. Where did you think he pulls the cards from? Thin air?"

The boy laughed nervously. "I dunno. Magic? I never really thought about it before."

Hisoka snorted.

At that moment, Leorio walked in.

Gon and Killua's mouths dropped open when they saw him.

The man, oblivious to his friends' shock, was conversing with his blond stylist, smiling at her. The girl didn't look as if she minded Leorio much anymore. She was… blushing?

Leorio glanced up, and caught the others' gaze. He grinned at them.

The blonde said one thing more, then, face as red as ever, stood on tiptoe and pecked Leorio on the cheek. Hair hiding her face, she dashed into the back room.

Slightly flushed, Leorio strolled over to the rest of the party, hands leisurely linked behind his neck.

"Hey," he said casually, before pausing midstep as he caught the other three's (yes, even Hisoka's) stares. Leorio blinked.

"What?"

Killua got right to the point. "What the hell happened to you?"

Leorio, in fact, looked very different. You could go as far as to say that he was…

Well, really handsome.

The sideburns had been shaved, the circular spectacles swapped for contacts. The man wore faded jeans, with plain shoes, and a tight, light grey shirt under a cream, long-sleeved button-down. Over that was a thick black hoodie, zipped halfway. Leorio had rolled up the sleeves of both, exposing his forearms.

"What?" Leorio repeated.

Killua shrugged. "You don't look like an old man anymore, old man. That's why we're so surprised."

The "old man" turned red with anger, but his sentence was interrupted by Gon's exclamation of, "Oh, there's Kurapika!"

Leorio turned around impatiently, about to scold his friend for taking so long, but was stopped short.

Kurapika had been followed out of the room by the rest of the giggling stylists. Now, they looked up, saw the rest of the group waiting for him, and broke away from the Kurta, waving to him and whispering with each other.

Kurapika had gotten a haircut.

That was the first thing that struck Leorio.

The boy's hair was still on the long side, though now it was much the same length as Hisoka's, bangs dipping just over his eyes, the back curling against the nape of his neck. His ears were completely uncovered now, and the ruby piercing in his right ear glinted, even in the dim winter light. He had on a pair of black jeans, with leather moccasins, and a green button-down coat.

The stylists seemed to have noticed that red was Kurapika's color too, for a pair of deep crimson earmuffs were hooked around his neck, and he had a pair of gloves of the same color, though he was slipping them off and his chains reappeared on his right hand. Leorio's red jacket was slung over the blonde's arm. Now, when he finished removing his gloves, he slid the jacket on over the one he was already wearing.

"They cut my hair," Kurapika muttered as he walked up, stating the obvious.

Neither of the other four replied, just looking at Kurapika in amazement. The blonde's looks were still feminine, but with the haircut… and without the skirted Kurta outfit, it was quite apparent that he was male.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Kurapika demanded, fingering a lock of newly trimmed hair self-consciously.

Gon was the first to recover, but Leorio was the one to speak.

"Nothing," was all he said.

Killua grinned, shoving the beanie onto his head and staring out the shop window at the snowy mountaintop.

"Let's get started!"

* * *

**Strut by Adam Lambert. I thought it was appropriate, seeing as they're getting new outfits and everything... It's the name of another AMV (called Strut) for Hisoka, but if you watched Spider Bite, you've probably seen Strut, too.**

**Thank you, Ria-san!**

**Killua: Review and give me virtual chocolate, or I kill you.**

**Author: Killua! You have to say please!**

**Killua: No.**

**Author: Say please, or I will kidnap Gon.**

**Killua: *sighs* Please?**


	11. Sleep-Cuddling

**A couple people said it would be interesting to see the outfits drawn? I like to draw, though I don't think I'm very good at it. I actually drew the outfits myself around the time I wrote the chapter- and then I threw it out. They all looked horrible and Hisoka looked downright strange. ^^'**

**I think that might be why I stick to FanFiction.**

**But anyways. I don't know, if anybody here is good at drawing and would like to do it, I think it would be really cool to see what the outfits looked like, drawn, by someone who can actually draw. :)**

**This chapter's short, I'm sorry. ; - ;**

* * *

"Killua! Ne, Killua! Look, look, look!" Gon raced up to his friend from the back of the group, hand held out in front of him. "I caught a- oh."

"It melted again?" Killua guessed, not even having to look back.

"Yeah." Gon pouted.

Kurapika was shivering, the earmuffs tightly covering his ears and hands stuffed in the pockets of Leorio's jacket.

The jacket's owner looked at the Kurta incredulously. "You have a really low cold tolerance. It's not even that bad."

"'Not that bad'," Kurapika repeated through chattering teeth. "I'm freezing!"

"It's not that cold, Kurapika!" Gon told him, passing Leorio on his way to reach his blonde friend. The dark-haired boy was jogging backwards, a smile stretching across his flushed cheeks. "You've just gotta move around!"

"I'm not cold," Hisoka offered, from the head of the group.

"You're never cold," Kurapika muttered.

The magician considered this. "Good point."

They were traveling in a line up the side of the mountain; Hisoka leading, Killua behind him, then Kurapika, with Leorio halfway beside halfway behind him, and Gon brought up the rear. He would have been in the front next to Killua, if he wasn't stopping so often to try and catch snowflakes.

Killua and Gon had learned their lesson in Greed Island; Hisoka had immediately been ordered to walk in front. Kurapika and Leorio had given the two youngest members confused looks, but didn't protest the decision. Hisoka had snickered at their exclamation, though he obeyed nonetheless.

"So," Leorio said, breaking the silence. "I got that stylist's number."

Killua, Gon, and Kurapika all turned around to look at the man.

He caught their gazes and shrugged. "What can I say? I have a thing for blondes."

Kurapika turned red. "Must you flirt with every female you meet?" he grumbled, turning back around.

"I _don't_ flirt with every girl I meet," Leorio retorted.

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

Killua and Gon watched the exchange intently, heads turning back and forth between the two. All that was missing was the popcorn.

Kurapika threw up his hands. "Ugh! I can't stand you!"

Hisoka (who had been silently enjoying the argument until now) and Gon spoke at the same time:

"You seemed perfectly able to stand his company last night."

"But then why were you two cuddling?"

Hisoka turned to Gon. "You saw it, too?"

Gon nodded earnestly as by now the party had stopped, standing in the snow in the middle of the path.

Kurapika didn't seem to be as cold anymore; he was blushing so much it had extended to cover not only his cheeks but also his ears and neck. It was quite comical to see the Kurta so uncharacteristically embarrassed.

Leorio just looked dumbstruck. "…wait, what?"

"They were cuddling?" Killua repeated with evil glee.

Gon nodded again. "Oh, yeah. Kurapika was all close to Leorio-"

"-Leorio's arms were around Kurapika…" Hisoka recalled, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"Be quiet," Kurapika hissed.

"Kurapika," Gon said innocently. "I think you might be getting a fever. Your face is all red and you're breathing hard."

Kurapika, hands in fists at his sides, ignored the boy.

Leorio, meanwhile, couldn't seem to comprehend what was going on. "But… I don't remember cuddling with him."

Hisoka smirked. "Sleep-cuddling. It's a rare disorder, in which both the cuddler and the cuddle-ee subconsciously migrate across the bed-"

_"Enough!"_ Kurapika yelled at the top of his lungs, which said a lot as the blonde was usually soft-spoken. The other four now found that Kurapika could be very loud when he wanted to be. His voice carried out, into the open air, echoing back at them several times over. The few birds in the area took off in panic.

The silence grew very heavy, broken only when a clump of snow unceremoniously plopped off a nearby tree branch, narrowly missing Leorio's head before hitting the ground. The man cursed, ducking and grabbing his head, then glanced up at the tree in anger, as if it was the tree's fault.

If Hisoka was at all irritated by the fact that Kurapika had basically just told them all to shut up, he didn't show it. The magician merely raised his eyebrows.

"Careful, now," he said mildly. "Don't want to cause an avalanche."

Kurapika ignored Hisoka, roughly shoving his hands back into his pockets and marching past the others and up the path, without so much as a glance back.

The other four looked at each other, shared an oh-well look, and trudged after the blonde boy.

After some more minutes of uncomfortable silence, Gon found the courage to jog to the still steaming Kurta, catching up to and walking beside him.

"Kurapika," Gon said again, with concern. "Your face is still red. Are you sure you're not getting sick? 'Cause we can stop, if you want."

Hisoka and Killua choked down their snickers.

Kurapika found it hard to be mad at his youngest friend. He let out a sigh. "Gon," he said wearily, "I'm sure that I am not sick. Thank you for asking though."

The Kurta followed up by ruffling Gon's hair. The young boy beamed at him.

Just then, they turned around a bend in the path, and when the trees cleared and their view was unobscured, Gon let out a breath of surprise.

* * *

**I couldn't find any song to fit this chapter- But that's fine, because it was pretty easy to name, anyway. Thanks to Ria-san, as always.**

**Gon: *turns to Killua* Ne, Killua, do _we_ ever sleep-cuddle? It sounds nice.**

**Killua: *blushes* Um... no.**

**Gon: Are you sure?**

**Killua: *still blushing* I'm sure.**

**Gon: Are you _sure_ you're sure? Because once, I felt something fluffy on my face, and-**

**Killua: *can't stop blushing* I'm sure, I'm sure!**


	12. 45

**WOOOO! I actually have wifi on my laptop! I don't even have to use the home computer for updating, this time!**

***fist pump***

**Did you forget the reason they were on the roadtrip, in the first place? Yeah, don't worry. I kinda did, too. XD**

**There are several different measurements in this chapter, and I realized, while writing it, that a lot of people reading this use the metric system... right? Like kilograms and meters and centimeters and stuff?**

**Ah... I'm so ignorant.**

**But, anyway, I went on Google and searched how many kilograms in so many pounds, you know, stuff like that, so that you could understand better. I'm from the US- of course, we decided that we would use a ****_different _****type of measurement than the rest of the world, instead of just using the metric system, because that would be ****_too easy._**

**Unimportant A/N over. ^^**

* * *

Where there once stood a beautiful, yet dark, church building, there was now less than ashes.

They had expected ruins of some sort; the frame of the building, maybe some stone columns. But a large, flat circle of land, barren to the eyes except for the white snow covering and the surrounding trees were all they saw. Even if debris and artifacts were left over from the fire, they had to be buried beneath the foot of snow.

Killua was the first to arrive behind Kurapika and Gon. He froze in shock, staring at the sight before him.

Leorio emerged next. His eyes widening, and he reached up to adjust a pair of glasses that were no longer there. His hand dropped back down to his side.

"What…?"

Hisoka stood off to the side, arms crossed, and surveying the ruins. He was reminiscing about the battle between himself and the Chrollo puppet. The puppet had been quite easy to destroy; he could have defeated it in less than a second, even without nen, but killing the copy of one of his favorite toys had been fulfilling in its own way…

Killua staggered forward. "No…" he muttered. "There has to be something here!"

They couldn't have come all this way for nothing!

The Zoldyck boy fell to his knees and began digging through the snow, half oblivious the numbing pain that spread throughout his hands as a result of the freezing cold coating.

"Killua," Gon began, pained.

The other boy looked up from his searching long enough to meet his friend's eyes. "Gon, help me. It's not possible. There has to still be something here."

Gon wiped his nose, which was running from the cold, and knelt down next to Killua to join him.

"You're right though Killua," Kurapika said, even as he shuddered and nuzzled down deeper into Leorio's coat.

It was much colder up here, at the top of the mountain, than it had been on the path, where they had been shielded by the rocky mountainside. A fierce, bitter wind picked up, howling through the trees, whipping Kurapika's hair around.

"Unless an outside force intervened, there should still be _something_ here." The Kurta, Leorio now by his side, continued.

"So, what are we doing standing around?" Leorio demanded, stepping forward, so he could kneel beside Gon and Killua. "We should start looking!"

"What are we looking for, anyway?" Gon inquired.

Kurapika had reluctantly dropped to the ground beside the other three; though he would much rather stay as far away from the icy snow as possible.

"Anything that will give us a clue to the puppets whereabouts."

Hisoka, indifferently, had begun scuffing along the ground with the other three, though he wouldn't go as far as to crouch in the snow as they were. He simply kicked up the snow with his feet, pausing every now and again to examine objects he had uncovered.

For, yes, they did find a thing or two, mostly covered by a thin coat of frozen ash, and most of it not of much importance:

A glass doll's eye, sky blue and staring blankly upward, found by Killua, who promptly shivered and threw it over his shoulder with all of his strength. Gon followed its progress with his eyes, watching as it flew up, up, up and over the treetops where it finally disappeared from sight.

Gon kept on discovering bits of crumbled stone and half-melted glass. He was beginning to wish that he would actually find something as creepy as Killua's doll's eye, just to spice things up a little.

Kurapika, Leorio, and Hisoka had found similar items as Gon had and once fifteen minutes had slowly passed, the doll's eye was still the most interesting thing that they had uncovered.

A short laugh from the right turned all of their attention to Hisoka. They watched the joker bend down, picked up something from the snow, and held it up for the rest of them to see.

The Queen of Hearts playing card, only slightly blackened around the edges, had survived the fire.

"I've been looking for this," the magician said with a chuckle. He flicked the card into the air with his thumb. The others watched as it spun through the air with unnatural speed, until Hisoka snatched it back. He spread out his hands, revealing that the card had disappeared.

Still chuckling quietly, he returned to his search.

"All I want," Leorio grumbled, about a quarter of an hour later, "is to leave this goddamn place, and take a nice, hot-" His voice cut off, and Leorio had disappeared.

Hisoka made a surprised noise of, "Eh?"

"Leorio!" Gon, Killua, and Kurapika cried at the same moment.

Kurapika was the first to reach the spot where Leorio had vanished for he had been right beside him.

Kurapika skidded to a stop at the edge of the pit his friend had fallen into, swaying slightly as he almost fell in himself. Still, he remained suspended on the corner of the pitch-black hole, which, when he reflected on the incident later, hadn't been his most clever move. But, he had been understandably anxious about the fact that his friend may have just fallen to his death. Logic, for once, hadn't been the Kurta's first priority.

"Are you all right?" Kurapika called down desperately, silently begging for any answer at all.

The reply he received was, "NO! MY BUTT HURTS LIKE HELL AND I CAN'T SEE FOR SH*T."

Kurapika let out a sigh of relief as he thought if Leorio was well enough to cuss and complain-

Gon and Killua crashed into the Kurta from behind.

The forward momentum of the two young boys was enough to push Kurapika, who was fairly light, and quite easy to push, over the edge.

He didn't even have time to scream before he landed on something warm and soft.

"ARGHH!" the thing he had landed on shouted.

Kurapika quickly rolled off Leorio.

He had fallen forwards, but somewhere in the descent he managed to twist around and he had landed, butt first, right on Leorio's chest. The blonde had, essentially, sat on his friend.

"Are you guys okay?" Came Gon's panicked voice and Kurapika looked up to see the outline of one spikey dark head, a fluffy light one, and a raspberry-red-haloed one that must have been Hisoka. Due to the light, all Kurapika could really see was the shape and faint color of their hair. It was almost completely black in the pit he and Leorio were in. However, though Kurapika could see the boys above he couldn't tell where the older teen was.

"No!" Leorio called back in irritation, as a dancing light flickered to life on Kurapika's left. Leorio appeared to have lit a cigarette lighter. The flames illuminated the angry look on his friend's face. "Kurapika sat on me."

"I didn't do it purposely!" the Kurta hissed back in anger.

Leorio glared in his younger friend's general direction; despite the lighter, the light was faint and he couldn't quite tell where the other was. Kurapika heard the sound of sliding fabric as Leorio rubbed his injured lower chest.

"Your butt is really bony," the man grumbled. "It was like having a bag of rocks dumped on me." Then he grinned, the lighter casting his face in its glow and making his mocking smile turn slightly eerie. "Good thing I have abs of steel."

Kurapika snorted.

"You wish," he said before he stood up, brushing his clothes off.

"We're coming down!" Killua's voice said loudly.

Kurapika was about to protest the decision, but stopped when he heard the telltale _whish_ of Gon's fishing rod.

The Kurta started in surprise as the fishing pole was thrown down, right into his arms.

"Hold that for me!" the boy called to him. "I already hooked and locked it!"

Kurapika was slightly confused. What were they planning on doing? Using it like a zip-line?

It turned out that the blonde was right.

"Don't let go of it!" Gon shouted down, and then Kurapika and Leorio again heard the sound of the line sliding, only much faster, this time. Kurapika felt the line get heavier, he guessed maybe by 300 pounds **(about 136 kg)**. _Whiz, whiz, whiz-_

Gon and Killua crashed into Kurapika, one right after the other. All three tumbled to the floor (which Kurapika finally, and painfully, noticed was stone) with a loud

"_Oof!_"

"Gomen, Kurapika!" Gon exclaimed, scrambling off of the older boy, effectively dislodging Killua too, as Killua had crash-landed on Gon's back.

As Kurapika sat up and rubbed his bruised elbows, he noted that this was the second time Gon had been on top of him in the last twenty-four hours. Kurapika liked his personal space; he was hoping, as much as he liked Gon, that this would be the last time. The boy wasn't heavy exactly, but 150 **(68 kg) **pounds of fun - plus Killua's weight - flying into him at fast speed, _hurt_.

The Kurta heard a light thump as Hisoka landed in a crouch at his side. Kurapika knew that the joker usually landed silently, and that the sound of Hisoka's landing hadn't been necessary; the magician probably only made the noise to alert them of his presence so they weren't startled by him.

Kurapika felt thankful for the man's consideration—he'd already had more surprises today than he had ever wanted.

"I've got a flashlight… in here… somewhere…" Gon was muttering. Kurapika heard the sound of pocket's on the boy's backpack being zipped and unzipped, and the rustle of clothing as he felt through his bag for the missing object.

The Kurta squinted up at the opening they had all fallen through. It must have been at least twenty feet up **(almost 60.1 meters) **, he saw with surprise. It was a miracle that Leorio, having no nen to shield his body with, hadn't broken any bones in the fall-

"Aha!" Gon interrupted Kurapika's ponderings, finally finding his flashlight.

There was a click, and then a fierce, strong light was suddenly, and rudely, shined into Kurapika's face. The blonde winced, covering his eyes with his hand in an attempt to block the brightness.

The light was directed away from the older boy. "Gomen, Kura-" Gon started to apologize once again, but stopped short when the flashlight revealed their surroundings. "…Whoa."

* * *

**45 by Shinedown. I think it's a pretty good theme song for Gon, too- It makes me sad when I think about him while listening to it.**

**{_Whatever happened, to the young man's heart? Swallowed by pain, as he slowly fell apart}_**

**Most of the songs' _lyrics _don't fit the chapters at all- I only use them for their titles, because I don't like trying to come up with chapter names, and I feel so weird when I just leave it as Chapter 1, Chapter 2...**

**Do you think the boys' weight's sound accurate? I mean, I know muscle weighs more than fat, and those two are probably nothing but skin, bone, and muscle...**

**I'm thinking of changing my username, but I don't know if that removes my fic from peoples' follow lists, or anything like that. Does it?_  
_**

**Thank you, Ria-san. ^^**


	13. World So Cold

**An Extremely Long A/N That Might Be Worth Skipping:**

**Ya know, I wanted my username to be just BungeeGum, but noooo. Someone had to take it already! *hits desk***

**Nah, I'm just kidding. It looks good with the X's. And now I actually have a nickname- You may call me Gumee!**

**I know this chapter is probably going to be as boring as the last one. I'm sorry ; - ; I had to, like... actually put a plot in here, so they still had a reason to be on the roadtrip, in the first place. But next chapter, it's back to awesome randomness! :D**

**This chapter was horrible. Thanks to Ria for making it readable. *gives her a thumbs up back***

**Mm... What else did I want to say? Oh, yeah. I'm gonna be updating like crazy- I still have an estimated ten chapters to write before I can finally write my holiday one. *pulls on hair* I only have four days!**

**And... Do you like the fluff? Leopika? I really actually didn't mean for that to be in here (the red-jacket moment, the sleep-cuddling) but I just like Leopika so much... it just happened. XD I know a lot of people don't like that pairing, and if you don't want anything more like that in here please tell me.**

* * *

The five of them appeared be in some kind of twisted workshop.

The room was not that big, about the size of their mobile home and no larger. Tables lined three of the four walls, the last almost completely taken up by a large kiln. On every tables lay objects ranging from random nails and pieces of scrap wood, to tools and other objects; to stray, blankly staring doll's eyes, to actual dolls, themselves. Not the animated, life-sized kind that they had encountered the last time they were here, but the human-controlled smaller version, like the one that Retz had carried with her.

Most of the dolls rested on a single table or were leaning against the wall beside it, or just lying across the floor beneath. They ranged in appearance and size; Gon saw one that had a small likeness to Mito-san, and he shuddered inwardly at the thought.

Almost everything in the room was covered in dust and cobwebs. It looked as if nobody had been in here since Omokage had died.

"Wait, where'd my fishing rod go?" Gon asked suddenly, shining his flashlight away from where it had been illuminating the table of dolls and onto the floor.

Killua stepped forward, tripping and almost falling over something on the floor. He looked down, before grumbling, "Found it."

The ex-assassin picked up the fishing rod and handed it to his friend. Gon accepted it, shining the flashlight over the rest of the workshop once more.

"This is really creepy," Leorio commented as weariness entered his tone.

"I suppose we'd better start looking," Kurapika sighed, "Gon, do you have any more flashlights?"

"Only one," Gon replied, digging around in his backpack some more. He tossed his last flashlight to Kurapika, who caught it, despite the faint light.

"What about the rest of us?" Leorio questioned angrily.

Kurapika shrugged, a gesture that he knew Leorio couldn't see but he did it out of habit, as he clicked the flashlight on. "The light from our flashlights should be bright enough to allow you to see where you're going."

Leorio steamed.

The Kurta walked up to the tables, shining the beam of his flashlight upon one of their empty surfaces. His brows knit together in confusion, and for confirmation on what he just noticed, he wiped his finger across the table's top. He brought his fingertip closer to his face so he could see more clearly. No dust. "Someone, or something, has been here recently," he said, unnerved.

Knowing very well that whoever or whatever it had been, could still be here now, at this moment, Kurapika whirled around, shining his flashlight all around the room.

It was empty, except for him and his friends, though the way the light glinted off of the dolls' eyes in the dark was quite creepy.

Kurapika's flashlight brought something into view in the corner of the room. When the blonde saw it, he let out an enraged hiss.

Leorio looked on in confusion as his younger friend marched up to the corner, brought his fist back, and slammed it into the wall. The stone crumbled from the force of the punch, and the whole room trembled slightly as a few chunks and a shower of dust rained down on the occupants.

"What are you doing?" Leorio asked in disbelief, brushing the crumbs of rock out of his hair. The other three were looking at Kurapika strangely.

"There was a spider," Kurapika said calmly, eyes returning to their usual blue-green as he dusted off his own clothing.

Leorio shook his head.

It was quiet for a few more minutes as they all searched the room. Kurapika was about to suggest that they head back up, when his flashlight beam hit a piece of crumpled paper, lying underneath one of the tables in the corner.

The Kurta curiously made his way over to the table and crouched under it to retrieve the note. Carefully opening it, Kurapika spread it out on the table before him. He read though it once, then again as his brow furrowed.

"Come look at this," he called to the others as he looked it over yet again. It seemed to be a riddle.

_On the islands of eyes_

_Is where another pair lay_

_Glowing scarlet_

_Awaiting your pay_

The riddle was written in a shaky, harsh hand; the writer appeared to have pressed so hard into the paper that there were rips in several places.

"Eyes?" Leorio asked from over Kurapika's shoulder. Gon and Killua were peering at the paper from the other side.

Kurapika handed the paper to Hisoka, who wordlessly accepted it, as he attempted to decipher it with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't get it," Gon voiced.

"Well," Kurapika explained, mostly for Gon's benefit. "The writer sounds as if he wants us to find a pair of scarlet eyes, and 'pay' for them somehow, with money or perhaps something else. They're saying that the eyes are located on 'the islands of eyes'…" Kurapika now hesitated, thinking hard. _The islands of eyes_. It rang a faint bell, but the Kurta couldn't quite remember what place this referred to.

"The note must be meant for me," Kurapika now finished. "I know of no other person who is in search of the scarlet eyes…"

"This must be connected to Omokage and the puppets, too," Killua pondered.

Leorio considered this. "Do you think the puppets can write…?"

Killua shrugged. "Probably."

"The puppet that we saw in the hotel room didn't seem as if he was trying to lead us here for some kind of riddle," Kurapika thought aloud. "Maybe there's another person, connected to the puppets, who used it as bait to lead us here?"

"Who knows." Killua huffed.

"Ne," Gon interrupted. They saw the outline of the boy's arm as he pointed upward. "It's gonna get dark soon."

The rest of the group looked up. The sky above, blue when they had started, was beginning to turn faintly purple.

Leorio squinted at his watch in the faint light.

"Damn," he muttered. "It's almost five already."

"We'd better get going," Killua said.

One by one, they exited the underground chamber.

The five of them were moving, at a fast pace, back down the mountain to the waiting mobile home. They didn't want to still be near the ruins when it was dark outside; it was chilling enough in the daylight.

As the party was traveling downhill now, the way was much easier, though they (mostly Leorio) slipped and slid on the snow from time to time.

"Race!" Killua announced, dashing ahead eagerly.

"HEY!" Gon shouted indignantly, as he ran to catch up. "That's not fair!"

Gon unexpectedly turned back to Hisoka before he all-out sprinted after his friend. "Hisoka, do you wanna race, too?"

The magician looked very surprised for a moment. Kurapika wasn't used to seeing such an expression on the man's face. Then, a wicked gleam went to the joker's eyes.

"Sure," he said quietly, a mischievous edge to his voice. And then, suddenly all that they could see was a blur and Hisoka darted after Killua.

Gon immediately raced to reach the other two, and he, too, blurred. Soon, they were just little colored dots in the distance. Kurapika predicted that they would reach the base of the mountain very quickly.

"Race?" Kurapika suggested, looking up at Leorio with a rare, sly smile.

"You're on," the man replied with a grin, taking off down the path.

"You know that I'm faster than you," Kurapika called teasingly, as he passed Leorio on the way down.

Leorio sped up, coming right up next to his competition.

"You got faster," The Kurta noted with shock. Leorio wasn't even panting yet, which amazed Kurapika even more.

"Yeah? If you don't stop going easy on me, pretty boy, I might start to think that maybe you've gotten slower."

The other boy's expression immediately darkened. He _hated it_ when Leorio taunted him like that. The man was going to live to regret it. Kurapika sprinted ahead at full speed.

Glancing behind him, the wind whipping his hair against his face, Kurapika expected to see Leorio fading into the distance.

But no… was he actually _catching up?_

* * *

**World So Cold by Three Days Grace. Get it? They're in the snow, and... Yeah, you get it.**

**New chapter probably gonna be up in less than 24 hours... (as usual). In the meantime, review?**


	14. Departure

**Alright... less Leopika, it is. :c**

**Wait, what are you guys' views on Gon x Killua?**

**Told you that I would update again soon. XDDD**

* * *

Gon had experience with Hisoka's speed; he remembered Heaven's Arena, where he had barely been able to follow the magician's movements by eye, let alone to keep up with his body. Gon knew he had gotten faster since then, but was it enough?

Hisoka had already caught up to Killua, and was neck-and-neck with the ex-assassin, almost surpassing him. Gon came up beside them now, sparing a glance to the left at his adversary. Hisoka was staring ahead with concentration. _Is he actually using his full speed, this time?_ Gon wondered in shock.

The boy, hoping it was true, pushed ahead harder, arms pumping at his sides. He could've sworn that they were moving so quickly, they had started to melt the snow in their wake.

The two boys overtook Hisoka slightly as they reached the final curve of the path. Sliding around the corner, a wave of snow spraying up from their feet, they both grinned as the mobile home came into view.

Hisoka grinned, too.

He leaned forward, braced his foot against the ground, and pushed off with nearly all of his strength, which was quite a lot mind you.

There was a crunching sound as Hisoka's foot went right through the snow, hitting the ground, and creating a small crater in the earth. The magician burst between Killua and Gon, knocking them both off-balance, and reached his hand forward to come in contact with the mobile home.

Hisoka hadn't slowed down enough, however, and though he had tried to prevent it, the force of his speed had caused his hand to dent the mobile home's surface, causing the vehicle to rock back slightly, precariously close to tipping over.

Killua and Gon skidded to a stop behind him, panting, and snow spraying up from their feet. Killua leaned against his knees, catching his breath. With a loud, "BWAH!" Gon fell back into the snow, collapsing from exhaustion.

Hisoka, not short of breath in the least, removed his hand from the wall of the mobile home, to reveal a hand-sized imprint in the metal.

"Oops," he said with amusement.

"Hisoka!" Gon shouted in anger, pointing at the joker with an accusing finger from where he still lay in the snow. Hisoka raised his eyebrows at him.

"You're just like Netero-san!" Gon raged on. "You weren't even using your full strength, the whole time! Just like he didn't even use half of his limbs!"

Hisoka shrugged. "It wouldn't have been fun for you if I had just overtaken you in moments, would it?"

Gon blinked. "Well, no…"

Kurapika could now see the mobile home. The two older teens appeared to be in the final stretch of their own race and the Kurta wasn't worried at all, as he wasn't short of breath yet, and Leorio finally was.

"Looks like I'm still faster than you," Kurapika called in triumph as he passed Killua and Gon, who were both lying in the snow, and slowed down so that he could tap the exterior of the mobile home.

Leorio slowed to a jog as soon as he saw this, then gave up and plopped down in the snow.

"Dammit," he cursed, panting heavily. Kurapika gave him a taunting smirk.

"Kurapika," Gon said happily. The addressed looked down, still smiling, to see the boy lying spread out on the ground. "I think this trip has been good for you," Gon continued. "You've smiled more than I've ever seen you do."

This, of course, caused the smile to disappear. "Huh?"

"And Leorio?" Gon said to the man, tilting his head back and craning his neck to see him better.

Leorio grunted in acknowledgement.

"You make Kurapika smile the most. You should keep doing that."

"Eh?"

Gon, oblivious to their confusion, sat up, brushing the snow out of his hair.

"I want some hot cocoa," he announced, grabbing Killua's arm and tugging him to the door of the mobile home.

"Wait!" Kurapika called in panic as they began to step inside. "You're going to get the floor wet…!" But the two boys had already entered, tracking snow all over the dry carpet. Kurapika sighed. "Never mind."

Leorio entered next, giving Kurapika an impish grin as he made a big show of knocking the snow off of his shoes before he went in.

Kurapika glared at him until he was out of sight.

Hisoka simply took off his shoes, wiggling his toes in the freezing cold snow as if it were nothing, as he smacked the footwear against the side of the mobile home prior to entry.

Kurapika carefully kicked his own feet against the bottom of the doorframe to knock the snow off, though he wouldn't go so far as to take his shoes off outside (he was cold enough already, thank you very much). The Kurta gave the snow-covered mountain one last weary glance before he turned and went in, closing the door tightly behind him.

* * *

Kurapika found Gon, Killua, and Leorio destroying the neatly kept cupboards, tearing the whole kitchen apart in search of cocoa mix.

"It's not in here!" Gon wailed in despair.

Hisoka had disappeared into the bedrooms' entrance, so Kurapika decided that it was about time that he take his turn driving, again. So with a remark of, "Clean up after yourselves," he slid into the driver's seat.

"You know," Leorio grumbled, standing up and scratching the back of his head, "we could've used chocolate syrup if _someone_ hadn't eaten it all." He then directed a glare at Killua, who was trying, and failing, to look innocent.

"But I was thirsty!" the young Zoldyck complained.

"You could've just had water, like everyone else," Leorio retorted.

"But water's boring!"

"We'll buy everyone food and hot cocoa at the next fast-food restaurant we see," Kurapika called from the cab, if only to get them to stop arguing.

"Okay!" Gon happily agreed.

"Find anything?" Hisoka asked as he returned from the bedrooms, a new pack of playing cards in his hand. Kurapika thought that it seemed as if the magician was becoming more comfortable with them, as they were with him. He had started to chat with them, and they, especially Gon, tried to include him and ask his opinion more often. Kurapika was amazed that this change had occurred in only two days. Had it really been only two days?

"No," Gon was answering, as he (surprisingly) obeyed Kurapika, starting to return the objects that he had thrown about the room to their original places. "But Kurapika's gonna buy us some next time he sees a fast-food place."

"Mhm," Hisoka made a sound of agreement at the decision, settling into a seat at the dining table and beginning to make a new house of cards.

Leorio poked his head into the cab's doorway and looked at Kurapika. "Do you even know where we're going?" he asked quietly.

Kurapika glanced up at him, before turning his attention back to the road.

"No," he admitted. "The phrase 'islands of eyes' reminds me of something, but I can't put my finger on what."

Leorio completely entered the cab, sitting down in the passenger seat next to the Kurta.

"Do you think looking at a map or something will help you?"

Kurapika paused. Guide books and maps probably would help his memory, so… "Yes."

"Let me drive," Leorio suggested, opening the glove compartment and digging through the contents until he came across a map. He held it out to Kurapika. "and you can look at this."

Kurapika pulled over, accepted the map from Leorio, and, as Leorio buckled himself in and started driving, Kurapika wandered into the other room to sit across from Hisoka. He unfolded the map and gazed at it. From time to time, Kurapika would take out the riddle and reread that, too.

Gon and Killua had relaxed on the couch, flipping on the TV and searching for something to watch.

Every once in a while, as they scanned through the channels, Gon heard Kurapika murmur under his breath, "Islands of eyes… Islands of eyes…"

Killua, finding nothing better to watch, had settled with a talk show. Gon paid half of his attention to it; he thought it was pretty boring, especially since the men—why were there never any women on these things? - on the screen were discussing politics. Gon hated politics. It was so hard to understand!

"That's it!" Kurapika shouted suddenly, slamming his hand onto the table, effectively knocking over Hisoka's card tower, which was, once again, only one card from completion. Hisoka stared at the fallen pile of cards in disbelief._ Again?_ he thought with a hint of growing irritation.

Oblivious to Hisoka's annoyance, Kurapika stood up, grinning down at the map as he placed his finger on a specific point.

"The islands of eyes! I remember now! The Veran islands, a group of islands, also known as the Islands of Eyes, because each and every one of the ten islands are almost perfectly circular! They're located about fifty miles east of here!"

The mobile home screeched to a stop.

Killua and Gon jumped off of the couch, Leorio quickly following from the cab, as they all, including Hisoka, leaned over the map.

"There?" Gon asked curiously, gazing at the formation of land that Kurapika pointed at on the map. The islands _were_ all very circular; there was one big one, about twice the size of the other nine that almost completely surrounded it.

"I've heard of that place," Leorio remarked. "The center one, King Island, hosts this big Christmas festival in the main city every year."

"So that's where we're going," Killua said thoughtfully.

"Well," Leorio said, heading back over to the driver's seat. "I guess I'm taking us there…"

* * *

**Departure by Masatoshi Ono. Also the beginning theme of Hunter X Hunter 2011. Have you ever heard Gon and Killua's versions of Departure? They're so cute. I like Killua's.**

**Thanks, Ria. :3**

**Gumee: Alright, this is the end of the plot explanation! *starts bouncing up and down with excitement* From now on, there's gonna be snow ball fights, and fast food, and holiday cheer, and ketchup, and- and- and...**

**Gon: ...Gumee-chan?**

**Gumee: *collapses onto bed and starts snoring***

**Hisoka: *looks up from cards with mild interest* Oh, my~ She got overexcited again...**

**Killua: *nudges Gumee with toe* She'd better not be dead. I wanted to be in more chapters.**

**Leorio: *checks her pulse* Nope. Just unconscious.**

**Kurapika: I suppose we'd better end the chapter, then?**

**Gon: *grins and wraps arm around Killua's shoulder* Review!**


	15. Ketchup

**I keep on forgetting to say this. I don't own HxH. I guess I should say I don't own McDonalds either, because though I don't mention the name, I used their prices, multiplied by the HxH rate. ^^**

* * *

Leorio had stopped at a fast-food restaurant about fifteen minutes later, and the man at the window couldn't seem to comprehend what Leorio actually wanted.

"Um… Sir? Could… you repeat that, again?" The reedy voice came from the electronic intercom that Leorio was talking into.

Ugh. This was the third time. Leorio was starting to get very irritated.

"I said that I would like," he said in a clear and loud, though impatient, voice. "A large vanilla milkshake, a large chocolate milkshake, a large... berry smoothie?" Leorio looked at the magician.

"Berry smoothie," Hisoka confirmed.

"...five large hot chocolates, fifteen burgers-"

"Remember to hold the pickle on mine," Killua hissed to him.

"-three without pickles… twenty chicken nuggets-"

"And I wanted a salad," Kurapika reminded him.

"-a medium salad with…" Leorio now paused. "You said you wanted ranch?"

"Yes."

"…with ranch dressing, and five large orders of fries."

"Don't forget the ketchup and the honey mustard," Gon whispered loudly.

"With a few packets of ketchup and honey mustard, please." Leorio finished.

The person taking their order was silent, though the food they listed had actually appeared on the screen this time. Leorio felt that this was progress.

"Look," Leorio said impatiently into the still-silent intercom. "We're paying you. And we're very hungry. So would you please hurry up?"

The person hesitated, before stuttering, "Y-yes, sir. Coming right up. Your… your price is going to be… 1,265 jenny. Please drive to the next window."

"Damn," Leorio muttered as he pressed on the gas. "You people are expensive."

Killua gave the man an incredulous look. He and the other three were all crowded in the cab beside Leorio, Gon practically on Leorio's lap. Hisoka was leaning against the doorway, shuffling his playing cards, and Kurapika and Killua shared the passenger seat, Killua half-hanging off the side and Kurapika squeezed between the ex-assassin and the window.

"You're worried about the price?" Killua said presently, leaning around Gon to get a better look at Leorio. "Have you forgotten that you have a Hunter's License? You get all of those benefits. Most public services for free, remember?"

"I know, I know," Leorio grumbled as he pulled up and stopped at the window where he had to pay. He pulled a worn, leather wallet out of his back pocket, rifling through it for his license. The automatic window slid open, and a pimply teenage guy stuck his head out, probably looking for the amazing individual who was ordering all of this food.

Leorio found his license, pulling it out of his wallet and flashing it at the cashier. He smirked. "This should cover everything."

The teenager gaped at the Hunter's License, slowly reaching forward, and, with awe, taking it from Leorio. He popped back inside the window with the license, scanning it at the cash register.

"He'd better not take it," Leorio grumbled wearily.

"If that happens, we can just beat the crap out of him and steal it back." Killua shrugged.

The pimply cashier boy looked as if he was actually considering stealing it. He had scanned the license, and was looking back and forth from the numbers on the cash register's screen, to the occupants of the mobile home.

Killua, leaning around Gon again, grinned evilly at the man, letting some of his killing intent escape as he raised his hand, his fingers transforming into claws.

"We hope that you aren't thinking of stealing it," he said in a low, dangerous voice.

The cashier yelped and jumped, a trickle of sweat sliding down the side of his face. He shoved the Hunter's License back through the window at the five Hunters, crying shrilly,

"Take it! Take it! Your food is going to be at the next window!" And the window closed, though not fast enough for the cashier's liking, by the look on his face.

Leorio sighed as he drove up to the next window, sliding the License back into his pocket.

"Killua," Gon complained. "Why did you have to scare the poor guy? Now we might never get our food."

Killua snorted. "If I hadn't, he would have run off with it, and we would've had to chase him down."

The second window hadn't opened yet, so the five of them had to sit and wait, watching through the slightly tinted glass as the employees rushed around to make their food. Another car had pulled up behind the mobile home, and the driver of the vehicle seemed to be very annoyed. They heard the driver hit the horn several times.

"Shut up!" Leorio shouted after the third round of honking. "It's not our fault that these people are taking so long to make our food!"

At that moment, the window opened, and a young woman emerged with half a dozen bags in each arm. "Here," she squeaked nervously, leaning forward and handing the bags off to Leorio.

The other occupants slowly drained out of the cab as Leorio peered inside of the bags and handed them whatever food they had ordered.

Only Gon remained, munching on fries in the passenger seat as the window started to close and Leorio began to pull away.

Gon looked around in panic, as if he couldn't find something he needed. Then, throwing himself forward, almost landing on Leorio, Gon cried a desperate,

_"Wait!"_ as fries flew everywhere.

Leorio immediately slammed the brakes, causing the mobile home to jerk to a stop. The lady that had handed them their food peered out of the window in confusion.

"What is it, Gon?" Leorio asked the younger boy, dumbfounded.

"I need _ketchup_!" Gon yelled.

The woman at the window looked at the island boy in disbelief, disappeared, and quickly re-emerged with hands full of ketchup packets. She all but threw them at Leorio, slamming the window closed as soon as she had done so.

"Crappy service," Leorio muttered as he pulled away. Gon happily dashing off with his hands full of stray french fries and ketchup packets.

* * *

**I'm so proud of myself. I came up with the chapter title on my own. ^O^**


	16. Family Roles?

***makes a clever, well-placed comment about how she doesn't own Hunter x Hunter***

**Congratulations, XxJigoku-no-HanaxX! You are the 100th reviewer! *confetti flies everywhere***

**Now, if only I had actually thought about this beforehand, and I actually had something to give you!**

**Umm... *brain fries* I'll come up with something by next chapter, but for now, please accept this virtual cookie! *hands you cookie***

**I got the "family roles" idea from this: watch?v=uTiadRpkOg4**

* * *

"We're there already?" Kurapika asked in response to Leorio's announcement, as the older teen traveled into the dining room, the remainder of his food in his hands.

Leorio took a bite of the burger, and replied, with his mouth full, "Yep. I parked us in this unused lot." He swallowed.

Kurapika grimaced, wanting to chastise his friend for talking while chewing, but refrained. After all, Gon, Killua, and Leorio did it so much that it was hopeless to try to stop them.

"Well, it looks unused," Leorio was continuing with a now empty mouth. "Let's hope we don't get a ticket, eh?"

"Let's hope," Kurapika muttered, raising his fork to his mouth and taking a delicate bite of salad.

"Oi, move over," Leorio ordered Kurapika.

The Kurta sighed, sliding closer to Gon and Killua, who, in turn, moved nearer to the end of the wraparound couch-seat, towards Hisoka. Leorio sat on the other end of the seat beside Kurapika, grabbing a few fries.

"So, I've been thinking…" he started, but was interrupted by Gon's,

"Ne, Killua." Gon raised his hands, a couple of ketchup packets in one and a bottle of vinegar in the other. "Look, look!"

Not only Killua, but everyone else watched as Gon poured both ketchup and vinegar all over a heap of fries. When he was done, all you could see were the condiments. The fries were almost completely covered.

Then, as if this wasn't enough, Gon picked up the salt shaker and layered the whole pile in salt.

The boy picked up a French fry, getting ketchup all over his fingers as he did so, and put it in his mouth. "It's really good!" he said happily, licking the ketchup off of his fingers.

"It's also extremely unhealthy," Kurapika muttered in disbelief as he watched his youngest friend pull out yet another ketchup-covered fry and drop it into his mouth.

"Gon," Killua said in amusement, "you have ketchup all over your face."

Indeed, when Gon looked up, there was ketchup outlining his mouth like lipstick, and even a little dot of it on the tip of his nose. "Are?"

Killua shook his head, handing Gon a napkin.

Leorio cleared his throat, starting up again with whatever he had previously been about to say.

"So I was thinking…"

The other four were now giving him their complete attention, a rare occurrence. Leorio felt that he shouldn't waste it.

"I was thinking that we should take a break and celebrate Christmas."

A grin immediately stretched across Gon's face. Leorio noticed that the boy had missed the drop of ketchup that was on his nose.

"But, Leorio," Kurapika said in confusion. "Christmas isn't for another week.

Leorio looked at the Kurta incredulously. _Where have you been?_

"Kurapika, tomorrow is Christmas Eve."

"Really?" Kurapika blinked.

Gon began bouncing up and down on the seat with excitement. "This is gonna be so fun!"

Killua tilted his head to the side, puzzled, and looked at Gon. "I've never celebrated Christmas before," he told his friend. "You said it's fun?"

"Oh, yeah!" Gon hadn't stopped bouncing. "There's a big, pretty tree, and presents, and cookies, and chocolate-"

Killua's eyes widened. "Chocolate?"

Leorio was pretty convinced that he had the two youngest members in on the idea. So, he turned to Kurapika and Hisoka. "Well?"

Hisoka shrugged indifferently, taking a sip of the raspberry smoothie.

"I don't care," was all he said around the straw in his mouth.

Kurapika looked from the eager-faced Leorio, to the excitedly bouncing Gon and Killua. He shrugged. "If you want to…"

"Oh, we want to." Leorio said with a smile stretching across his face. Gon and Killua nodded in unison.

"Chocolate," Killua said earnestly, as if this were the most valid reason to do anything.

Kurapika opened his mouth to agree to the decision, but all of a sudden Gon burst out:

"What is sex?"

Oh, not this again. Kurapika had been extremely hopeful that the boy had forgotten about his quest for knowledge by now.

_Well,_ Kurapika thought. _He's never going to stop unless we give him_ some_ kind of an answer_… So the blond said, "I'll tell you one day, Gon."

"But I wanna know now!" Gon pouted.

Killua shoved a ketchup, salt, and vinegar-covered French fry into Gon's mouth to hush him, then grabbed a handful for himself. _They're actually pretty good this way._

"Um, Kurapika…" Leorio shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Don't you think that _I_ should be the one to give him the, er… talk?"

Kurapika looked at Leorio in confusion. "Why?"

"Because… you're, um… kinda, uh…"

Kurapika was starting to get a bit annoyed. "I'm kind of what?"

Leorio was looking extremely awkward.

"Well… If we were to give each other, ah, family roles… Gon and Killua would be like brothers…"

The said two looked at each other for a moment, and then grinned.

"…you'd be kinda like the mom, and I'd be the dad. And that's a conversation that he should have with a dad, right?" Kurapika just stared at Leorio as he finsihed, irritation mounting in his expression.

"And _where_ did you get that from?"

Hisoka was the unlikely savior, preventing an all-out argument.

"Well!" the magician said loudly, sliding out of the seat with his beverage in hand. "I think I'll call the big bedroom for tonight!" And he walked off.

Killua cleared his throat loudly. "Let's go explore the parking lot, Gon!"

He grabbed the other's arm instantly and started leading him away.

"Okay!" Gon agreed cheerfully, oblivious to the tension, managing to grab a handful of French fries before he was dragged out the door.

Kurapika gave Leorio a terrifying death glare that said, _We will settle this later._

And then the angry Kurta headed into the bedrooms with an announcement of, "I believe that I am going to take a shower."

All alone at the dining table, Leorio looked down at the half-eaten burger in front of him. He shrugged, _Oh well, more for me._

* * *

**I must be having some sort of creativity high, eh? Two original chapter names in a row...**


	17. Gon-Devouring-Couches

**XxJigoku-no-HanaxX, you win... *drumrolls***

**Okay, so I still don't know. But reviews mean A LOT to me, like I grin every time I see a new one. And the 100th review is something really, really, special. ^^**

**Mmm... maybe you can do a little cameo in one of the chapters? Like, you can send me a description of what you want to look like and how you want to act, in a review or pm? And then you can interact with the five of them. XDD That sounds fun...**

**So, XxJigoku-no-HanaxX (your name is awesome), can you pm me? :D**

**The contact part sounds like filler to me, but, ah...**

**The text was all bunched together, and I tried to fix it, but it wouldn't work. -_- Hopefully you can read it.**

**Anyway, CHAPTER!**

* * *

Gon and Killua re-entered the mobile home just as Kurapika came out of the bedrooms' entrance in a pair of pajama pants and a T-shirt, a towel was wrapped around his shoulders. He studiously ignored Leorio, though the man was sitting with his feet on the table, and Kurapika desperately wanted to hit him for that.

Gon flung himself at the couch, hoping to lie down and relax. Instead, the couch folded in on itself, and with a startled cry, the boy disappeared into its depths.

Killua blinked. Did the couch… just eat Gon?

All of a sudden, the couch sprang open again, folding outward to make a mattress, with Gon laying, squished but alive, on its surface.

"Wow!" Killua exclaimed, as Gon sat up and rubbed his head, looking around in confusion. "It's a bed, too! I didn't know that!"

Kurapika was staring at the fold-out bed. "All this time…" he muttered, beginning to twitch, "there was another bed…"

Leorio thought that it was about time to make himself scarce. He jumped up from the dining table, hurrying past Hisoka and into the bathroom to take his shower.

* * *

"Leorio?" Kurapika called, knocking on the bathroom door. "Are you done in there? Killua and Gon said that they need to take their showers. They would like you to… ah, hurry up."

Actually, Killua had said something more along the lines of, 'Tell the old man to get his butt out of the bathroom, before I kick it out of there for him', but Kurapika had thought that it would be more polite to rephrase.

"Kurapika, you use contacts, right?" Leorio's voice called from behind the door.

Kurapika paused, puzzled by his question. "Yes, occasionally. Why?"

"Come in here. I need help getting these stupid things out."

Kurapika put his hand on the doorknob, a bit nervous about… well, going into a bathroom while another person was in there, but he opened the door anyway.

The Kurta found his friend in front of the sink, face so close to the mirror that his nose was almost touching it's surface. Leorio pulled his fingers away from his eyes, cursing as he did so.

Kurapika noticed that the man's eyes were red and irritated.

"You're doing it wrong," the blonde told him helpfully. Leorio glanced away from his reflection to look at Kurapika.

"I know that you're not supposed to sleep with them in," he explained, actually not annoyed with Kurapika for criticizing him for once. "and I didn't want them to get stuck to my eyes or anything, but they won't-"

Kurapika sighed, leaning against the doorframe. "Open your eyes, as wide as you can," he instructed.

Leorio did as he was told.

"Hold the bottom of your right lid with your right middle finger," the Kurta continued, "and your top lid with your left. You shouldn't be able to blink, now. Can you?"

"No," Leorio muttered. He wished Kurapika would get on with it; his eye was starting to water.

"Use your right thumb and index finger to take out the contact. Make a motion kind of like pinching, but don't use your nails."

Leorio attempted this, but soon had to close his eyes.

"Dammit," he swore, blinking, as tears ran from his right eye.

"Try looking at your fingers as you go to grab the contact," Kurapika suggested patiently.

Leorio glanced up at him, wondering how his friend could be so calm with him, when he, himself, felt like giving up in frustration. He tried again.

"Yes!" the man said in triumph, holding up his forefinger, with a clear semicircle resting on it. He started to slide it into the contact case.

"No," Kurapika immediately reprimanded.

Leorio paused and looked up at him once more.

"You have to clean it."

"Ohhhh."

Kurapika shook his head, turning away. "Are you alright with getting the other one out on your own?"

"Yeah," Leorio replied, rinsing the contact with a bottle of solution.

Kurapika began to close the door.

"Thanks," Leorio called, grinning.

The Kurta paused. He was _not_ going to smile back at Leorio; he hadn't forgiven the man for the whole 'wife' thing just yet.

"No problem," he said eventually, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Kurapika had insisted upon the newly discovered couch-bed, and Hisoka, of course, had already called the big bed.

Leorio had absolutely no intention of ever sleeping in the same bed as Hisoka, even if his life depended upon it, and he thought that trying to share a bed with Kurapika again may endanger his health. So that left him with the last option - sleeping in a bunk-bed beside Gon and Killua, something he wasn't too happy about, either.

Gon and Killua, in turn, took their showers, while Kurapika made sure that they didn't flood the bathroom this time. Goodnight's were exchanged, much like the last night, except that this time there was a bit of a problem.

"'Night, Leorio!"

Leorio sighed, rolling over. "'Night, Gon."

"Sweet dreams, old man."

_That's it._ Leorio picked up his pillow and whipped it at the adjacent top bunk, where a certain annoying little ex-assassin lay.

There was a surprised yelp, making Leorio grin in victory. _Little brat didn't expect it._

Next, he heard a growl, and the smile faded off of his face.

Two pillows came flying at Leorio's head, his own and Killua's, both hitting their mark and smacking the man, one after the other, on the side of his face.

"Take that, geezer!"

Leorio sat up, one pillow in each hand, ready to return fire, but then two small pajama-clad forms both launched themselves at the man, tackling him. The three tumbled off of the bed together, hitting the floor with a very audible thump, making the whole mobile home tremble. Gon giggled, planting himself on his older friend's chest, Killua sitting painfully on Leorio's knees. The man struggled, flailing and trying to throw the two boys off.

"You're not getting away from us, old man!"

"Dammit-!"

"We got you, Leorio!"

Suddenly, the lights were flicked on, and the three pillow-fighters squinted in the sudden brightness at a blonde figure that now stood in the doorway.

"What are you three doing?" Kurapika grumbled, rubbing his left eye as he took in the scene of tangled limbs and jump-tackles.

They froze, staring up at Kurapika like guilty children. Well, two of the three actually _were_ children - Leorio had no excuse.

The Kurta gave them all, even Leorio, a stern, commanding look. "Go back to bed. If I hear one more noise…" Kurapika let the threat hang in the air, as the others quickly scampered back into their respective beds.

The light turned off, and they didn't make a single sound the rest of the night.

…Well, except for Gon.

Exactly forty-two minutes and ten seconds (he'd been counting) after that, when Leorio had been snoring for a while, and Killua's breathing had finally slowed, and Gon was positive that they were sleeping, he crept out of bed.

Tip-toeing, he made his way to the door of the big bedroom, carefully sliding it open. He was going to catch Hisoka by surprise, and ask him…

Well, you can guess what Gon wanted to ask him.

Gon slipped in between the narrow gap between the door and the doorframe, took a silent step forward and -

"Don't even think about it." The magician's voice was low, but still dangerous and threatening.

Gon jumped, eyes wide with shock in the dark, and scrambled back through the door and into his bed.

As Gon threw the covers over himself, he thought he knew one thing: He was never going to sneak up on Hisoka ever again.

* * *

**Gon-Devouring-Couches. Oh, yes. I like that...**

**Gon: You ****_want_**** me to get eaten by a couch?**

**Gumee: No, of course not! *hugs Gon***

**Gon: o/o Um... Gumee-chan?**

**Gumee: *let's go of Gon* ^^ Sorry. Too much sugar. Reviews are welcome. :D**


	18. The Crazy Uncle

**Annnnd there goes my dream of publishing a Christmas chapter on Christmas day. *cries***

**I think my downfall was a combination of procrastination, homework, little spots of writer's block, and a lack of caffeine and wifi. A message to all consumers: Verizon is a jerk.**

**Eh, it's my fault, too. I shouldn't be blaming poor Verizon.**

**Anyway, so my whole goal for the past... one and a half months has not been achieved. And so, this will now be a belated-Christmas fic. ^^'**

**The "cameo" chapter is coming up soon. *thumbs up to XxJigoku-no-HanaXx***

* * *

Kurapika, with a yawn, sat up and looked around the room. When his gaze traveled to the object that rested in the corner, he froze in utsurprise.

"Wha…?"

"Oh, you're up!" Leorio said turning around with a grin, a mess of tangled Christmas lights in his hands. He stood in front of the corner between the entrance to the cab, and the front door, where the TV hung. Not only did the TV reside there now, but a rather small plastic Christmas tree, on top of a red and green tree skirt.

"_Really?_ I didn't think it was noticeable," Kurapika replied with heavy, irritated sarcasm to Leorio's obvious statement. Having just been woken up, the Kurta wasn't as pleasant as he usually was.

Leorio childishly stuck his tongue out at his younger friend before turning back to the mess of wires in his hands, which he was trying to untangle. Kurapika now took note of several boxes of cheap ornaments resting on the dining table.

"Did you just buy all of this?" Kurapika asked in disbelief, pushing himself into a more upright position, blanket falling from his shoulders.

"Yep," Leorio grunted, still struggling with the lights.

The blonde blinked at the clock that was on the stove. It was only 7:30. "How early did you wake up?"

"Five - _Dammit_." The older man had dropped the knotted mass.

Kurapika raised an eyebrow. "Would you like some help?"

"No-!"

Then Leorio looked down at the lights, the wires hopelessly wrapped around his hands. He sighed heavily. "…yes."

The Kurta, with a shake of his head, got up from the couch-bed and padded across the room to help his impossibly tangled, and clumsy friend.

* * *

"Eh?" Killua paused in the doorway, Gon bumping into him from behind. This was the second time that he had stopped in this particular doorway, due to a surprise in the early hours of the morning. A feeling of déjà vu surfaced.

The first time, it had been the alarming sight of a certain disturbing magician making _pancakes_. Now, that certain disturbing magician, plus one blonde Kurta, and an elderly (at least in Killua's opinion) med student, were… decorating a Christmas tree.

"Ne, Killua!" Gon cried from behind him. "I can't see! I can't see! What's going on?"

Killua wordlessly stepped aside to allow his best friend to see.

Gon opened his mouth, a gasp of awe escaping. "It's so pretty!"

Killua rolled his eyes. It was just a bunch of multicolored lights on a cheap plastic tree… Gon could be amazed by the littlest of things.

The three tree-decorators turned around; Leorio grinning at them, Kurapika smiling softly, and Hisoka just raising an eyebrow, a red and pink ornament hanging from his fingers.

A sudden feeling of warmth spread through Killua. Something about them all being gathered here, as friends, made him feel all soft and fuzzy inside. Yes. Even Hisoka.

He snapped himself out of it. _Eck._ _I'm turning into a sap like Gon_.

The said sap interrupted his thoughts.

"Wait!" Gon shouted, rushing forward and grabbing an ornament from Leorio, inspecting it closely. "You can't use these!"

"Why not?" Leorio asked, wondering what Gon's problem could possibly be. The boy had just exclaimed that the tree looked 'pretty' after all.

"These aren't the right kind of ornaments!" Gon explained, as if this should have been obvious. "You need big, pretty glass ones, and ones decorated with string, and ones with stars, and especially ones that you make yourself! They need good memories in them!" The ranting boy held up the cheap, plastic ornament that he had snatched from Leorio. "These aren't right! They're all stupid and… and… not right!"

Gon stopped, breathing hard, as the other four stared at him. That had been, perhaps, the biggest speech that they had heard from their youngest friend yet.

* * *

And so, that was why they were now here, bundled up in their new coats and hats, in the festive shop-filled town square of King Island, as snowflakes softly fell.

"Ne, Leorio?" Gon asked, as if something had just occurred to him.

"Yeah, Gon?" Leorio responded as they entered a café; they had decided to buy breakfast first.

"If me and Killua were brothers, Kurapika was the mom -"

At this, Kurapika's expression darkened, and he gave Leorio the _Someday, I will kill you for that comment_ look again. Leorio paled.

Gon, not noticing, continued, as they joined the rather long line of waiting customers. "- and you were the dad… what would Hisoka be?"

Hisoka, hearing his name, glanced down from the café menu to stare at Gon from the corner of his eye.

Leorio blinked. He thought hard, but couldn't come up with anything. "…I don't know," he sighed eventually.

"Hisoka would be the crazy uncle," Killua deadpanned.

For a moment, Hisoka froze, a small noise of startled surprise escaping. Then, his shoulders started shaking with laughter. Finally, the magician couldn't hold it in anymore, and a loud snicker escaped.

"What's so funny?" Gon asked him curiously.

Hisoka reigned in the laughter. "Ah, it's nothing," he told the boy, waving his hand.

Gon shrugged, turning to Killua.

"I don't think Hisoka should be the crazy uncle," he informed his friend.

Kurapika suppressed a sigh. Great. Now they were using the present-tense; it sounded like they were playing 'house'… He seriously hoped that he wouldn't be stuck with the 'mom' title forever.

"Why not?" Killua responded, as they made their way to the middle of the line. He thought the title 'crazy uncle' fit the joker pretty well.

"I dunno," Gon pondered. "'Uncle' makes him sound old."

The young enhancer turned to Hisoka. "You're not old, right? You're like twenty."

"I'm twenty-eight, actually," Hisoka casually replied, returning his attention to surveying the menu.

"Eh?"

"Whaaa?"

"No. Way."

"Are?"

"You're almost thirty!" Killua exclaimed in horror. "That's… that's old!"

"But you don't look thirty!" Gon cried in shock. They were almost to the front of the line now.

"It's because of Nen," Kurapika told the younger two, once he had recovered from his surprise. "It slows the effects of aging, and makes you live longer."

"Oh, yeah," Gon recalled.

"So that's why Kurapika's like seventeen, but he still doesn't look like he's hit puberty yet!" Leorio tapped his chin.

First the 'mom' thing, now this… Kurapika looked murderous. Leorio would have been sent flying through the roof of the café if not for the fact that they had finally reached the front counter.

"May I take your order?" the girl at the cash register asked pleasantly.

"Large mocha cappuccino," Killua told the lady, "With extra chocolate. And a chocolate muffin."

"Large hot chocolate with lots and lots of whip cream," Gon said to the cashier with a beaming smile, "and a cream cheese bagel, please!"

"Coffee," Kurapika said, still glaring at Leorio. "Black." Then, he added under his breath, "_like Leorio's eyes are going to be as soon as we get out of this café_."

Leorio stepped up, looking a bit nervous. He thought about flirting with the cashier, you know, the usual: _Did it hurt when you fell out of heaven?_ line, but he thought better of it, thinking that it probably wouldn't help his chances of survival against an already enraged Kurta.

So he simply said, "Large French vanilla, and a breakfast sandwich please."

"Medium strawberry milkshake," Hisoka ordered last. Leorio had to wonder how the magician could order such a cold beverage at this time of year; it was like he was impervious to winter temperatures. Furthermore, what was it with Hisoka and fruit-flavored drinks?

They paid the total, heading out of the café, Kurapika shooting Leorio death glares the entire way. The second Leorio was out the door however, he took off full-speed, down the street.

Killua had to admit that this was a pretty smart move on the old man's part; he took Kurapika by surprise, at least, and it gave him a second's head start to escape with his life.

Kurapika dashed after the older man, coffee in hand, eyes burning faintly scarlet, shouting, "YOU'D BETTER RUN, LEORIO PALADINIGHT. I AM GOING TO STRANGLE YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!"

"You know," Gon considered, as he watched his two oldest friends fade out of sight, pedestrians staring as they flew past. "I think Leorio is the only one who can make Kurapika _that_ mad."

"Besides the Phantom Troupe," Killua added in amusement, taking a sip of his mocha, not fazed in the least by the scalding temperature.

"Besides the Phantom Troupe," Gon agreed.

* * *

**Thank you, Ria. ^^**

**Gon: I am shunning you, Gumee. You did not get the chapters done on time. *crosses arms and glares at her***

**Gumee: ; - ; I tried! ...E for Effort?**

**Gon: Nope. *shuns***

**Gumee: I'm sorry!**

**Gon: Shunning!**

**Killua: *watching all of this with raised eyebrow***

**Gumee: B-but...**

**Gon: SHUN. S-H-O-N... Wait... I mean, S-H-U-N.**

**Killua: *sighs and walks away***


	19. Little Boys vs Disturbing Magicians

**Teehee, the title was inspired by this video: watch?v=b3dDky5RMZ0**

**I just rewatched both of the times Leorio and Kurapika split up from Killua and Gon and- and- *sniffles* BWAHHHHH WHAT IF THEY'RE NEVER TOGETHER AGAIN?**

**I'm mad at Kurapika right now, even though I shouldn't be. ****_Answer your phone, you amazing sad little Kurta jerk!_**

**Dammit.**

**So I'm all sappy and depressed now. Anyway, look! It's a new chapter!**

* * *

"What would your brother be?" Gon asked, as he, Killua, and Hisoka strolled down the streets, stopping every once and a while to enter a shop or two; Leorio and Kurapika still hadn't reappeared, and Killua had a sneaking suspicion that Leorio was either running for his life, or being beaten senseless. The three of them had decided to take advantage of the situation. They were now Christmas shopping.

Both Gon and Killua already had bags full of various items.

Gon had bought a friendship-bracelet-making kit, much to Killua's amusement, with a bunch of little charms to add to them. One for each of his friends, plus Hisoka; a mini eye for Kurapika, a little doctor's stethoscope for Leorio, a tiny playing card for Hisoka, and a miniature skateboard for Killua, which he was sure to buy discreetly without his best friend's notice. Killua had snorted when Gon picked out the charms, telling him that he looked like a girl, but Gon just stuck his tongue out at the ex-assassin. Gon had also been very productive in ornament-shopping, filling his bags were decorations of every size, shape, and color. In addition, he chose glitter and paint, telling Killua that they could use it to make their own ornaments.

Killua had selected, of course, chocolate, though he was having difficulties coming up with anything to buy for Kurapika and Leorio, and maybe Hisoka. The Zoldyck boy hadn't had much experience giving gifts to others, or even receiving gifts, himself.

When they entered a book store, he eventually settled on this random history book for Kurapika, but as soon as he saw "Getting Old, For Dummies", he knew exactly what he was buying for Leorio. Upon insistence from Gon, the ex-assassin had reluctantly picked out a box of silver and blue hexagram-shaped ornaments.

Hisoka had selected a set of suit-symbol-themed ornaments, two each of the club, diamond, spade, and heart; how Hisoka always found things that had something to do with playing cards, Killua never knew.

"What do you mean?" Killua asked in response to Gon's previous question, finishing the last of his mocha and tossing it into the nearest trash can.

"You know, family roles," Gon persisted. "What would your brother be?"

"You mean Illumi?" Killua had to confirm which brother Gon was talking about; Killua had _a lot_ of brothers.

"Yeah, Illumi."

Killua shoved his gloved hands into his pockets.

"He'd be the nagging, over-controlling mother-in-law," he said darkly.

Gon tilted his head at his friend in confusion, but Hisoka burst out laughing.

Killua and Gon stopped, having to wait for the magician while he doubled over, holding his sides. "Nagging… mother… in law…" he repeated between laughs.

If Gon was confused by Killua's reply, he was even more confused by Hisoka's reaction.

"Hisoka, what's so funny?"

Hisoka recovered, wiping his eyes as they continued walking.

"I'll be sure to tell him that," the magician told Killua. The ex-assassin's eyes widened by a fraction.

"He'd kill you, then hunt me down and kill me," he predicted.

"It would take quite a chase, and a lot of effort to kill me," Hisoka shrugged. His eyes lit up at the thought of Illumi chasing him down, and the joker licked his lips.

Gon, meanwhile, had begun to discreetly inch away from the other two.

Killua stopped walking, and darted his hand back to grab his surprised friend's arm. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked.

"Nowhere!" Gon's eyes were very wide by this point.

"He was probably going off to buy a gift for you without you noticing," Hisoka guessed, looking down at Gon while he sipped his strawberry milkshake.

Killua turned back to Gon, giving him a sly smile. "Is that right?"

"How did you know?" Gon exclaimed to Hisoka, still in Killua's vise-like grip.

Hisoka chuckled. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Ringo-chan~ You are horrible at keeping secrets."

"Maybe it would be better for us to split up for a while," Killua considered. "We could buy each other stuff, and still keep it a surprise." He released Gon's arm. The younger boy rubbed his sore limb, looking at Killua accusingly but he didn't run away.

Hisoka frowned. "Kurapika and Leorio are gone," he said thoughtfully. "Which means that I am now technically… responsible for you two." At this, the magician eyed Gon and Killua. The two looked up at him with big, innocent eyes, one pair brown, the other blue. This made Hisoka frown a bit more; he didn't like the idea of being responsible for anybody.

"If you get lost or kidnapped," Hisoka continued. "It can be said that it is my fault…"

"If anybody tries to kidnap either of us, they will end up dead or seriously injured," Killua told him frankly.

"Here!" Gon exclaimed, suddenly taking a very surprised Hisoka's hand. "I can pinky swear that me and Killua won't get lost!" The boy locked pinkies with the clown.

"Oh, my god," Killua groaned, covering his flushed face with one of his hands.

Gon began swinging their hands back and forth, while Killua looked on in horror.

"I pinky swear that me and Killua will never get lost or kidnapped!"

Hisoka was usually not one to be messed around with. He was known to be very dangerous, ruthless, cruel, extremely clever, and probably insane. He could defeat almost any opponent he faced, whether they be high in physical strength, or in mental strength. But against adorable, pinky-swearing little boys? He was defenseless.

Gon was still at it, oblivious to Killua's extreme embarrassment and Hisoka's shock. "If I break my promise, I'll have to swallow a thoooouuusand needles! Pinky sworn!"

Killua groaned again. "Please don't do the kiss part-"

Oh, but Gon did. "Sealed with a-" He brought his and the ambushed magician's thumbs together. "-KIIIIIISSSS."

The boy, grinning, finally released Hisoka, grabbing Killua's arm and dashing off with him. "C'mon, Killua!"

Hisoka, after watching them run away, looked down at his still-raised pinky, feeling… violated.

* * *

**Arigato, Ria-san!**

**(next chapter is the cameo...)**

**Gumee: I hope I didn't upset Illumi with his... erm, family role... *looks around nervously***

**Hisoka: *smirks and comes up behind Gumee* Boo.**

**Gumee: AHHHHH!**


	20. Skateboards and Fishing Rods

**Cameo time! :DDD**

**I was just catching up on the more recent episodes of HxH (I stopped watching at like episode 102 and started up the manga because I was freaking out, not knowing if Killua was dead or not) and... FGRIGFRJNEVK HOLYCRAPKILLUAYOUHAVEAVERYSEXYCHEST.**

**Killua: ...Wait, what?**

**Gumee: Nothing, nothing! Chapter 20!**

***Gumee doesn't own HxH***

* * *

Gon was now on his own, after having separated from Killua a few minutes after leaving Hisoka.

The boy stared around at the shops in wonder, stopping at almost every one of them, just to peek inside and look around. He especially loved the lights that decorated almost everything; the ice and snow reflected the rainbow of colors nicely.

Gon paused in front of a shop for fishing and hunting supplies- now _this_ was his kind of store.

With a grin, he pushed open the door with the shop bell dinging as he walked in. A burst of cozy, warm air met him.

Looking around, the boy's gaze fell upon the fishing rod section and he wandered toward it. They had different fishing poles and lures of all different sizes and colors. Gon saw one in white and blue and, with a smile, thought of Killua. The white matched his best friend's silver hair, and the blue was the exact same color as his eyes.

Suddenly, Gon remembered their conversation during the Hunter Exam:

"Cool! Can I try out your fishing rod?"

"If you let me use your skateboard."

Gon had taught Killua how to use the fishing rod, and he had learned at an amazing pace, soon becoming just as skilled as Gon in using it. Gon smiled to himself. That was Killua; an expert at everything.

The young Enhancer thought of giving Killua a fishing pole of his own, so Killua had one to use too. The idea was pure genius; Gon immediately grabbed the blue and white rod from the shelf, dashing up to the counter with it.

* * *

Killua strolled down the street, a chocolate sucker in his hand; he loved chocolate suckers. Whoever came up with them must have been a pretty awesome person. It was like having chocolate, but attached to a stick, so that it wouldn't melt in his hands. Plus, it lasted longer. Sucking on the chocolate rather than biting into it was preferable, as he could let it melt in his mouth, slowly enjoying it.

The boy, popping his treat back into his mouth, hesitated as he passed a skater shop. There was a black and green skateboard in the window; the colors were reminiscent of Gon. Suddenly, he got an idea, and he dashed inside.

* * *

An hour after Gon's fishing pole purchase, the island boy got a text message from Killua, telling him to meet Hisoka and himself at the giant Christmas tree in the center of town.

When Gon arrived, his mouth dropped open at the sight before him.

The Christmas tree was _huge_ - it extended twenty-five feet into the sky! Decorated with bedazzling red and green lights, silver and gold tinsel wrapped around, with a beautiful, twinkling golden star on top; Gon had to crane his neck to see it all.

"Oi," Killua's voice called out.

Gon looked down again, glancing around to find the source of his friend's voice.

"Over here!" Killua shouted.

Finally finding the other boy, Gon saw that Killua was leaning against the four-foot concrete barrier that was wrapped around the Christmas tree, with a plastic lollipop stick hanging out of his mouth. Hisoka stood beside him, absently shuffling his deck of playing cards.

"Did you see Leorio and Kurapika anywhere?" Killua asked as Gon approached.

Gon shook his head as he stopped in front of the other two. Killua sighed, stepping away from the wall.

"Those two better not have gotten lost."

"Kurapika could've just knocked Leorio out and is having trouble dragging him back," Hisoka mused, pocketing the deck.

Gon's eyes had wandered to the many shopping bags that hung from Killua's arms. He noticed an especially large, rectangular package that stuck out from the rest. The dark-haired boy pointed to it. "What's that?"

Killua glanced down at the object of the other's gaze, and his eyes widened. He turned away from Gon, shielding it with his arms. "Nothing."

"Let me see it!" Gon exclaimed, stepping forward and trying to grab the package, but Killua danced away.

"Not unless you let _me_ see what _that_ is," Killua said firmly, pointing to a long, cylindrical object that extended out of Gon's shopping bags.

"No!" Gon said immediately, jumping back.

Hisoka, who had been looking on with amusement until now, spoke.

"We'd better start to head back," the magician began, "The other two could already be there by now, and we still have quite a lot of decorating to do." At this, Hisoka looked down at Gon and Killua's shopping bag-laden arms, raising an eyebrow.

* * *

On their way back to the mobile home, the trio passed a grocery store.

"Ah!" Gon said, stopping and looking to the entrance of the store. "We haven't even gotten Christmas food yet!"

"Christmas food?" Killua wondered aloud, but he entered the store behind Gon anyway, Hisoka following suit.

Once inside the shop, Gon plucked a shopping cart from the line, moving up and down the aisles with it.

"We need a ham," he said cheerfully, naming the foods he picked as he selected them, "and corn, and potatoes, and squash-"

Killua made a face.

"-and beans, and jell-o…"

Hisoka and Killua were somehow able to stop the boy when he tried to take some more strange foods, such as frog legs ("Ew, no! Gon, put that back!" "But why? They're good!") and fish. Killua insisted that, since Gon ate fish often, it would make the holiday not as special.

When they arrived at the candy and baking section, however, there was no stopping the two younger boys as they jumped from shelf to shelf, grabbing everything from gummy worms to chocolate-chip cookies.

Killua got to a shelf filled with boxes of brownie mix and his eyes lit up.

"Gon!" he called, picking up a box of Mocha Brownies. "Let's make brownies!"

Gon happily agreed, and they grabbed five boxes, Hisoka watching in disbelief. The cart was already full of candy and food; where were they going to put it all?

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Where the hell is that moron?" Kurapika grumbled out loud, stalking down the street with two shopping bags in each hand. Several passersby glanced back at him again after they passed him; it was understandable because, though Kurapika's eyes were no longer burning that bright red hue, he still looked royally pissed-off. If looks could kill, several people who accidentally met the hostile Kurta's eyes would have been dead by now.

Kurapika had, to his frustration, lost Leorio about three minutes after the chase began - when the man had disappeared in a group of people who were heading into a huge shopping mall. Kurapika had given up searching five minutes after that. He hated malls; there were too many people everywhere, and too many of them stared, so he had returned to the less-crowded, more spacious and comfortable town-square.

The blonde knew very well that he could just use his Dowsing Chain to track the object of his anger, but decided it wasn't worth it. The insufferable jerk would have to return to the mobile home eventually and when he did, Kurapika would be ready…

So immersed in his vengeful thoughts, he didn't notice the girl that was headed towards him until it was too late, and they crashed into each other. They had both been going at a fast pace; Kurapika taking the sidewalk in anger-filled strides, and the other quickly hurrying, almost running in the opposite direction.

Due to their speed, the girl completely fell backwards onto the ground, while Kurapika stumbled back a few steps, almost falling too.

Kurapika blinked, looking down at her.

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, gazing up at him with wide, dark eyes, seeing his ticked-off expression, and mistaking it as anger towards her. "I wasn't watching where I was going!"

Kurapika mentally smacked himself. He'd been so distracted in his fury with Leorio, that he'd hurt an innocent person.

"No, it's fine," the Kurta replied, smiling down reassuringly at her and offering his hand, "I was the one who wasn't paying attention."

She accepted his help and he pulled her up, her short, black hair swaying as she righted herself.

"Are you hurt?" Kurapika questioned as he picked up her dropped belongings; two shopping bags and a small purse.

The dark-haired girl smiled back at him, as he handed her the bags.

"I'm okay." She answered before walking away, looking back over her shoulder to grin and wave. "Arigato~!"

Kurapika waved back, before he turned around and began walking again, rubbing his temples.

He needed to calm down, before anyone else got hurt…

* * *

**Thanks to Ria, and XxJigoku-no-HanaxX, I hope you liked your little guest appearance, there. ^^**

**Kurapika: ^^' Please forgive me for bumping into you.**


	21. Kurapika, You Ooze Manliness

**So my editor-san, Ria D'Arcy, has this story out, called Hunter's New Year. You're supposed to read her story and, if you want, submit whatever name you want and however you want to look. And then, in the chapter she's publishing on New Year's, you can interact with the HxH characters at a New Years Party! :DDD How awesome is that?**

**Well, anyway, I noticed that not that many people were participating yet, and I thought that more people SHOULD, so... eh, if you want to, you should check it out. *taps chin* It's kinda like TSM's *waves to her* fic Phantom Troupe Café, you can interact with the characters.**

**I checked the Rules and Guidelines, and it said nothing about helping a friend get more participation in an awesome fic by mentioning it in an A/N, so... *shrugs* Hopefully I'm not being a dumba$$ and getting myself in trouble by saying that.**

**Chapter 21! (and I don't own HxH)**

* * *

"Let's make brownies _now!" _Gon exclaimed the second they had entered the mobile home, dumping his share of groceries directly onto the couch.

"But we haven't even put away the…" Killua trailed off as soon as he saw Gon pull out the brownie-mix boxes. The pictures of soft, delicious, extra-chocolaty brownies seemed to be calling to him.

The two boys began searching for the ingredients to make their brownies, going through cupboards and looking for things like bowls, spoons, measuring cups.

With a sigh, figuring the job wouldn't get done otherwise, Hisoka started putting away the remaining recently-purchased groceries.

Gon and Killua weren't very experienced chefs…

"How many eggs did it say?" Gon piped up.

"Two. But we're making five, so you have to multiply two by five."

"Oh… so… twelve eggs?"

Killua huffed. "No, Gon. It's ten."

"Oh, okay!"

A few seconds later, Hisoka heard:

"Aw, dang it. I think I cracked it too hard."

The magician glanced up over the open refrigerator door. Gon had, indeed, cracked the egg too hard; it looked like he had thrown it against the counter, not merely tapped it. Raw egg yolk was splattered everywhere, even on the boy's face, though he was now wiping it off.

Thinking that he'd better help them before more eggs were destroyed, Hisoka closed the door of the fridge and took the remaining eggs from Gon hands.

"Agh! Ow, Kurapika! Could you be a little more gentle?"

"Mmmm…" Kurapika pretended to consider his friend's suggestion. "No."

The blonde boy was pulling a struggling Leorio back to the mobile home by his earlobes. If you ever asked the man, Leorio would tell you that his earlobes have been slightly stretched out and larger than usual ever since.

"Please, Kurapika," Leorio was practically begging.

"Maybe you should have thought about the consequences before you spoke."

"C'mon, man! I was joking!"

The Kurta loosened his hold on the older man's earlobes, just slightly. Not enough to relieve Leorio's pain though.

"Would it help if I told you that you're the most manly person I've ever met? You practically ooze manliness. You are so manly-"

The death glare and the earlobe-tug he received from Kurapika silenced him once more. After a second or two of peaceful (in Kurapika's opinion) quiet, Leorio spoke again, though it was barely audible this time.

"I'm sorry."

Kurapika looked straight ahead. The mobile home was just a few meters away, now. "What was that? I couldn't quite hear you."

Leorio made some grumbling sounds, before repeating, slightly louder, "I'm sorry."

Kurapika grudgingly released his friend's earlobe.

The injured med student rubbed his throbbing ear.

"You have a pretty hard grip, you know that?"

Kurapika merely shrugged.

When the two reached the door of the mobile home, Kurapika paused. There was a hand-shaped dent beside the door… "When did _that_ get there?"

Leorio followed the Kurta's gaze, looking at the imprint with confusion. "I don't know."

Suddenly getting an idea, the older man dug through the shopping bags handing from his arms. "Aha!" he exclaimed as soon as he found what he was looking for.

Kurapika watched incredulously as Leorio pulled out a large, tinsel-entwined wreath, and placed it so that it hung right over the dent. The man stepped back and admired his handiwork.

Kurapika, shaking his head and smiling to himself, opened the door, only to pause again.

Hisoka, Killua, and Gon were all seated at the dining table, a large bowl of a chocolate-like substance sitting before them. Hisoka was leaned back comfortably across from the two boys, licking the chocolate off of his fingers, and Killua and Gon were on the other side, each with a spoon in his respective hand, apparently eating the same substance as the magician. Not only was the chocolate in the bowl and on the spoons though; it was all over the table, and a lovely chocolate handprint decorated the window.

Hisoka noticed Kurapika and Leorio first.

"Killua and Gon did it," the joker said calmly, even as he licked chocolate from his own fingers.

Killua's head immediately whipped up to look at Kurapika and Leorio, eyes wide. "No, it was Gon!"

The accused boy looked outraged. "You traitor! It was you and Hisoka more than anybody!"

Leorio raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me, but we don't even know what you did."

Killua blinked once, then grinned. There was a bit of chocolate on the corner of his mouth. "Well, we were going to make Christmas brownies," he began, pausing to scoop some more chocolate from the bowl with his finger.

_Ah, so that's what it is_, Kurapika realized. _Brownie batter._

"But the brownie batter tasted really good," Killua finished, as if this pretty much summed up the whole scene.

"So you decided to eat the batter instead of making brownies?" Kurapika asked in amusement.

"Yup!" Gon nodded cheerfully. He had much more chocolate on his face than Killua. It was also covering his palm; it appeared that Gon had been the one that painted the window.

Kurapika looked at Hisoka, even more amused that he, of all people, would join two young boys in licking brownie batter. The magician looked right back at him with a smirk, reaching into the bowl for more chocolate.

"You know that you can get sick from that," Kurapika told them.

"Who cares? It's good." Killua shrugged as he continued to think, _and I'm immune to food poisoning…_

"Well," Leorio said loudly, with a wide smile. "I think I might join you. It's been a while since I ate batter…"

The man set down his shopping bags. "Scoot over, brat," he ordered Killua, but he said it only jokingly.

And Killua, for once, wordlessly listened to him, and moved closer to Gon to make room for Leorio. Kurapika was amazed; it must have been a Christmas miracle.

Gon handed Leorio a spoon, and Leorio spared no time in digging right in.

Kurapika observed the scene with a small smile; four people eagerly consuming brownie mix as if it were a meal, two of the four full-grown men.

The Kurta decided that he wanted to partake in the batter-eating, as he had never done it before, and it actually looked quite good.

"Move over please, Leorio."

Leorio grinned crookedly at his young blonde friend, doing as he asked. Kurapika received a spoon from Gon, leaned across the table to scoop up a spoonful of chocolate batter.

It was delicious.

* * *

**Thanks to my readers and Ria-san. :D**

**Gumee: Ne, Gon, can I have some brownie batter too?**

**Killua: *shields bowl with arms* Noooo!**

**Gumee: *sticks tongue out at Killua* I asked Gon!**

**Gon: *hands bowl to Gumee***

**Gumee: ^^ Arigato~ *licks batter off of finger***

**Killua: OI, GON. Who's side are you on?**

**Gon: *grins* Everybody's! c:**

**Killua: *scowl***


	22. Unripened Fruits

**This chapter shall be called "Unripened Fruits" due to the author's lack of creativity.**

**Gumee: IT'S BEEN SO LONG-**

**Killua: It's only been two weeks...**

**Gumee: *ignores him* -AND I MISSED YOU ALL!**

**Part of the reason I've been so distracted, and not writing, is because I've been working on this project with-**

***Killua, Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio tackle Gumee and cover her mouth***

**Killua: *hisses* Shut up!**

**Gumee: *mumbles through the hands covering her mouth* I don't own HxH. And I think we all agree that it's much better off in the hands of Yoshihiro Togashi.**

* * *

After that, all five of them sat around the dining table, supplied with glitter, paper, glue, and other crafting supplies from Gon, and were asked- no, _ordered_ by the boy to each make their own ornament.

Gon was the first to finish, presenting his friends with a large, bright green, glitter-covered tree. He had cut little squiggles of brown paper out as well and glued them onto the tree, and when Killua asked what they were supposed to be, Gon informed him that they were birds.

Killua still didn't see it, and the thought that his ornament, in comparison, was much better came to mind; it was a sliver cardboard star, designed by Killua to be three-dimensional, with blue glitter-glue lining the edges.

Kurapika's ornament, a royal-blue teardrop with a golden cross in the center, was neat and simple.

Leorio didn't understand how it had taken Kurapika twice as long as him to make his own ornament, even though the Kurta's was so easy to make. The blonde boy had meticulously cut out the tear drop and drawn the cross; throwing out his design every time he made the slightest mistake. Leorio snorted, _Perfectionist_.

The older man had been at a bit of a loss over his ornament-design. As a result, all it was was a series of three circles, interlocking each other, one in red, one in yellow, and the other in orange. By the time he had completed it, Kurapika had only just finished cutting out the blue teardrop.

When Leorio had proudly held up his finished masterpiece, Killua, leaning back in his seat across from the man on the other side of the table, had scoffed and insulted his workmanship. This had tempted Leorio to lean across the table and snatch the smug boy's ornament away from him, and destroy it, but Gon instinctively calmed the older man down with a simple,

"Your ornament is awesome, Leorio!" and beamed happily at his older friend.

Hisoka had been the last to finish, but when he lifted his hand, his finished decoration dangling from his fingers, Gon gasped in awe.

When they all had first started making their ornaments, the magician had disappeared out the door, returning a few minutes later with his hands full of little shards of glass. Where exactly Hisoka had gotten the glass, Killua didn't know but he had a slight suspicion that someone, somewhere, was going to return to their car, only to find one of their windows shattered.

The joker had taken pieces of different colored paper, and cut them into the four suit symbols; red for the heart, a blue diamond, a green club, and a golden spade. He had then linked the four together using glue, by the points of each, so they formed a circle. The glass was glued to each of the symbol's surfaces, along with glitter, and when Hisoka held up the ornament, it sparkled in the light.

Now the tree was fully decorated, with the five home-made ornaments hung proudly near the top and the recently bought ornaments covering the rest, most of the work having been done by Gon.

Unlike the ornaments though, not much time and consideration had been put into the stockings; each had just picked out a different colored stocking to hang above the couch. A raspberry-pink for Hisoka, a golden yellow for Leorio, red for Kurapika, blue for Killua, and green for Gon.

"So..." Killua said, linking his hands back behind his head and looking at the bedazzled Christmas tree through half-lidded eyes. "What do we do now?"

All turned from the Christmas tree they were standing in front of to stare at the ex-assassin.

Gon grinned. "Now we make cookies for Santa!" he exclaimed happily, grabbing Killua's arm and tugging him towards the stove.

Killua considered enlightening his friend on the fact that this "Santa" he spoke of did not exist, but decided against it, letting himself be pulled into the kitchen area.

Gon stopped suddenly and stared at the oven for a few seconds, then turned back around with a sheepish look. "Hisoka, we need help."

The magician gave an amused chuckle and stepped forward to help the two boys.

* * *

_Two hours._ That's the amount of peace the three oldest occupants of the mobile home got until chaos started up again.

Leorio and Kurapika had secretly finished wrapping their presents, as Gon, Killua, and Hisoka had finished baking and frosting their cookies. And now Gon and Killua had started up a contest on who was strongest.

Leorio couldn't quite remember how it had started, probably with a meaningless comment that aggravated one of them. First, it had been a contest on physical strength, with the two of them arm-wrestling on the dining room table, until Kurapika had ordered them to stop so they wouldn't end up having to buy a new table. And presently, the contest had turned to a test of aura strength and endurance.

Gon and Killua stood, facing each other, before the Christmas tree, both with very determined looks on their faces, in defensive stances, an impressive amount of aura swirling from the two of them. It had been five minutes now, and neither was showing any sign of giving up any time soon, or even any signs of fatigue.

Gon, with a small grunt, suddenly increased his power, more aura flaming out around him. Killua narrowed his eyes and did the same.

Kurapika, who had previously been watching the contest for amusement, was drawn to look behind him by a small, almost inaudible noise. There stood Hisoka, leaning against the doorframe, a look of ecstasy on his face, his eyes wide as he licked his lips.

The Kurta, feeling a bit queasy, turned back around and cleared his throat loudly. "I.. I think that you two had better stop."

The young Enhancer and Transmuter simultaneously looked up, the word _why_ hovering on the tips of their tongues, when they caught sight of Hisoka.

Both aura sources completely vanished as they stepped back involuntarily, now noticing Hisoka's aura. Thick and almost tangible, it hovered around them, close to choking them with its blood lust. Leorio, Kurapika, Killua, and Gon were suddenly reminded of the dangers of traveling with the murderous joker.

"Let's go outside, Gon!" Killua said with forced cheer, not taking his eyes away from Hisoka for one second as he began to back towards the door.

Gon nodded in silent agreement, Leorio and Kurapika following behind swiftly.

The door closed.

Hisoka, now alone, closed his eyes and slid further against the doorframe, his hands tightening into fists as he restrained himself. _Why must unripe fruits be so tempting?_

* * *

**Yes, I know. Random scary-Hisoka-moment thrown right in there. I probably gave you whiplash. DX I'm sorry!**

**So I was looking at the stats for this here story (XD) and at the moment I am typing this, it was hovering at 6,999 views. :DDD It made me laugh a little. Just wanted to share that with you. **

**Thank you, Ria!**


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